Kolkata, August 3: The Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police arrested a second associate of the suspected terrorist, Hamim Mandal, linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammed group on Monday. Mandal was apprehended last week.
Officials identified the arrested individual as Aditya Singh, also known as Raj. He was taken into custody from his residence in Howrah, West Bengal.
A source from the West Bengal Police revealed that information about Aditya emerged during the interrogation of Hamim Mandal and his associate, Arpita Sarkar, both of whom were arrested last week. Mandal and Sarkar are also accused of having connections with the Pakistan-based terrorist-criminal organization known as the Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN).
Investigations revealed that Aditya provided critical information about Umesh Rai and his family members to Hamim Mandal. The SBN had been targeting them for honey-trapping, blackmailing, and potential kidnapping for ransom. It was also discovered that Aditya was behind threatening calls received by Umesh Rai following the recent assembly elections.
Umesh Rai is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) representing the Howrah-North assembly constituency and serves as a state minister in Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s cabinet. Sources indicated that the STF team arrived at Aditya’s home late Sunday night and interrogated him throughout the night before his arrest on Monday morning.
Previously, Hamim Mandal was arrested in Bardhaman on Friday, while Arpita Sarkar was apprehended the same night in Sahibganj, Jharkhand. STF officials also recovered crucial documents related to Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s schedule and movements from Hamim Mandal. Both suspects are currently in STF custody for 14 days.
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