Arrested members of banned outfit had plans to target ‘Chicken’s Neck’, create instability: West Bengal Police

West Bengal Police arrest Ansar-al-Islam Bangladesh members planning to target Siliguri corridor, aiming to create instability in northeast India.

The eight suspected members of terrorist outfit Ansar-al-Islam Bangladesh, who were recently arrested, had been planning to target the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ connecting West Bengal’s Siliguri with the northeastern states, a top police officer said.

“They wanted to create large-scale instability in the corridor by carrying out synchronised attacks and fomenting instability,” he said.

The West Bengal Police recovered pen drives and documents from two suspected members of the terrorist outfit, who were arrested in Murshidabad district.

ADG Supratim Sarkar told reporters on Friday (December 21, 2024) that the duo was part of a group of eight people apprehended by Bengal, Kerala and Assam police.

Inquiries revealed they had specific plans to target the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, also known as the Siliguri Corridor – the only connectivity with the seven states of the northeast.

Mr. Sarkar said the state police had got a tip-off about a sleeper cell of the outfit, which was active since August.

"We have recovered a 16 GB pen drive, some jihadi literature and fake identity cards from the two suspects, identified as Abbas Ali and Minarul Sheikh. We suspect they were part of a sleeper module aiming to create instability in sensitive areas of south and north Bengal, as well as in the seven sister states of the northeast,” Mr. Sarkar had said.