Khagragarh kingpin pumped in funds for JMB recruits

KOLKATA: A few days after Dhaka's anti-terrorism cell arrested Abdur Rehman, alleged key financier of Neo JMB, the NIA claimed the terror group was pumping money through a special cell where the Khagragarh blast mastermind, Maulana Yusuf, played an important role.
While on the run, Yusuf and his aide, Abul Kalam alias Kalim, routed money into districts across Assam, Jharkhand and Bengal to fund recruits for the outfit; the two also travelled to eastern and northeastern states to induct youngsters in the outfit's India chapter and train them.
Yusuf and four of his associates-Abul Kalam, Abdul Hussein Farooq, Jahidul Sheikh alias Jaffar and Rubel-who were arrested by the Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police last month from Bengal and Assam were produced in court on Thursday. While Yusuf's advocate argued the trial had already started and that there was no need to put them in NIA custody, the court remanded the five in the agency's custody for 15 days.
Yusuf, in charge of JMB in the eastern and northeastern India, eluded investigators for two years-ever since the Khagragah blast in 2014-and NIA sleuths believe he, along with Kalam, shifted from one place to another to dodge cop radar. Being core members of the terror outfit, the two mainly focused on spreading its network. "The network they established is still active across the country, suspected to be hatching a larger conspiracy," NIA advocate Tamal Mukherjee said on Thursday in the court of additional district and sessions judge Kallol Das. He pointed out that the arrested accused were involved in "other terror activities", apart from the blast at Khagragarh in Burdwan. "It was difficult to arrest them as they had been changing their base frequently," he said. "While the Khagragarh chargesheet named Yusuf and Kalam, warrants were issued against three more persons arrested by the STF. The agency needs to interrogate them to get hold of the co-conspirators," said Sanjay Bardhan, another advocate appearing for the NIA. The agency has so far framed charges against 30 people, nine of whom are still absconding.
It was Rehman, whom the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh arrested earlier last week, who managed the funds for JMB from Bangladesh and abroad. RAB sources said after funds were pooled in, two alleged operatives, Sohel and Milan, acted as couriers and transported it to individuals; Yusuf was among the operatives-Kausar, Kader Kazi and Jahirul Sheikh were the others-who handled the money and pumped the funds into Howrah, South and North 24-Parganas and outskirts of Kolkata to help the outfit flourish.