India’s NIA files charge-sheet against 5 Bangladeshis

India’s top counter-terror body National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a charge-sheet in a special court against five Bangladeshi nationals for aiding banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).

The charge-sheet was filed in the NIA court in Mumbai yesterday against Mohammed Habibur Rahman Habib alias Raj Jesub Mandal, Ripen Hossain alias Rubel, Hannan Anwar Khan alias Hannan Baburli Gazi, Mohd Hassanali Mohd Amirali and Azarali Subhanalla Islam alias Raja Jesub Mandal, the NIA said in a statement put up on its website.

The charge-sheet against the Bangladeshi nationals have been filed under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code, relevant sections of stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 and section 14 of the Foreigners Act of 1946.

All the five Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad of western Indian city of Pune in Maharashtra state on the charge of aiding and harbouring members of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) in Pune.

The NIA said its investigation revealed that all the five arrested accused persons were staying in India without valid documents and were working as workers at various construction sites in Pune.

The five arrested persons had fraudulently obtained Indian Permanent Account Number (PAN)  Cards needed for filing income tax returns and opening bank accounts, multi-purpose identity Aadhaar cards, election cards and ration cards in fictitious names by providing fake or forged documents, the NIA statement said.

The five Bangladeshis had used the said Aadhar and PAN cards for procuring Indian SIM cards, for opening of bank accounts and for seeking employment in India.

The NIA said its probe also brought out that in the year 2017 they had provided shelter and money to one Tushar Bishwas alias Tanvir, a member of ABT against whom a charge sheet under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 was earlier filed by the NIA.

Source: thedailystar