Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that four people have been arrested on charges of links with terrorist organisations. He said two of them, “linked to Bangladesh-based terrorist organization Ansarullah Bangla Team”, were nabbed in Tamulpur district and the other two in Nalbari. He tweeted on Monday, “We are determined to eliminate jihadi elements from Assam. Tamulpur Police has done a commendable job in nabbing two persons Sadiq Ali and Zakibul Ali, who lured the youth to join Ansarullah Bangla Team, a Bangladesh based terrorist organization affiliated to Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

Sharma said the arrest of Sadiq Ali was an “important achievement” as he had been “radicalising the youth” for the past two years. He said that Sadiq was also associated with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The Chief Minister further said that the Ghaghrapar police of Nalbari district has arrested two more people Abel Ali and Abu Rehan in a similar case.

Sharma had told the Assembly in September that 40 jihadis have been arrested in the state this year. Since January this year, five modules with alleged links to the banned Ansarul Islam of Bangladesh have been busted.

Four madrasas have also been demolished, of which three were demolished by the respective district administrations “due to non-compliance of construction norms” and the fourth one allegedly by locals.