An operative of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Mohammed Hamim Mondal, was apprehended in West Bengal, exposing a meticulously planned terror operation. The plot included targeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and infiltrating a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar by masquerading as a police officer. Investigations confirmed Mondal's direct links to Pakistan-based handlers who guided his actions, which also involved surveilling the Chief Minister. A significant development is the emergence of a honeytrap plot, coordinated by the same handlers and linked to the Shahzad Bhatti gang, aimed at abducting and extorting money from the son of a West Bengal minister, as evidenced by the arrest of Mondal's associate, Arpita Sarkar. The recovery of international SIM cards indicates encrypted communication channels used to facilitate these terror activities and strengthen sleeper cells within India, with Mondal allegedly radicalized via social media prior to engaging with these foreign operatives.

An operative of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Mohammed Hamim Mondal, was apprehended in West Bengal, exposing a meticulously planned terror operation. The plot included targeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and infiltrating a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar by masquerading as a police officer. Investigations confirmed Mondal's direct links to Pakistan-based handlers who guided his actions, which also involved surveilling the Chief Minister. A significant development is the emergence of a honeytrap plot, coordinated by the same handlers and linked to the Shahzad Bhatti gang, aimed at abducting and extorting money from the son of a West Bengal minister, as evidenced by the arrest of Mondal's associate, Arpita Sarkar. The recovery of international SIM cards indicates encrypted communication channels used to facilitate these terror activities and strengthen sleeper cells within India, with Mondal allegedly radicalized via social media prior to engaging with these foreign operatives.

An operative of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Mohammed Hamim Mondal, was apprehended in West Bengal, exposing a meticulously planned terror operation. The plot included targeting Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and infiltrating a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar by masquerading as a police officer. Investigations confirmed Mondal's direct links to Pakistan-based handlers who guided his actions, which also involved surveilling the Chief Minister. A significant development is the emergence of a honeytrap plot, coordinated by the same handlers and linked to the Shahzad Bhatti gang, aimed at abducting and extorting money from the son of a West Bengal minister, as evidenced by the arrest of Mondal's associate, Arpita Sarkar. The recovery of international SIM cards indicates encrypted communication channels used to facilitate these terror activities and strengthen sleeper cells within India, with Mondal allegedly radicalized via social media prior to engaging with these foreign operatives.

After the Jaish-e-Mohammed operative was arrested in West Bengal, Special Task Force officials said that he had planned to target Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and also infiltrate the Cockroach Janta Party's protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar by wearing a police uniform. 

The alleged JeM operative, Mohammed Hamim Mondal, was arrested from Purba Bardhaman district on Friday. IG (Special Task Force) Gaurav Sharma said that he was brought to Kolkata for interrogation, PTI reported. 

Sharma said the investigation established Mondal's links with Pakistan-based handlers and that he was working at their behest.

"The chief minister was one of the targets. Hamim had been assigned by Pakistan-based handlers the task of keeping a watch on the CM's movements. He was asked to gather information on the places the chief minister could remain unguarded," Sharma was quoted as saying.

Mondal had also planned to infiltrate the students' protest at Delhi by procuring a police uniform, the STF said.

Apart from Adhikari, several police officers and political leaders were on the list of the terror module, said the official. 

Also, with the arrest of Arpita Sarkar, alleged Mondal's associate or girlfriend, a honeytrap angle has also emerged. Sarkar was also arrested by the STF on Friday. 

Officials said the duo had conspired to honey-trap the son of a minister of state in West Bengal to abduct him and extort money from the family, the PTI report said.

A senior STF officer said the conspiracy was orchestrated at the behest of Pakistan-based handlers linked to the Shahzad Bhatti gang.

"Our investigation has revealed a specific plan to lure the minister's son into a honey-trap, followed by kidnapping and blackmail. The conspiracy was directed by Pakistan-based handlers. We are probing the precise role of each accused and whether others were involved," the officer was quoted as saying.

The plan was to cultivate personal relationships with influential persons and extract sensitive information. 

STF had recovered international SIM cards issued in the United Kingdom and Mexico from the accused.

"The SIM cards are suspected to have been used for encrypted communication with handlers operating from abroad and to facilitate the strengthening of sleeper cells and the terror network in different parts of the country," Sharma said.

He also added that before coming in contact with Pakistan-based operatives linked to the Shahzad Bhatti group, Mondal was allegedly radicalised through social media. The accused was found to be in contact with several Pakistan-based handlers through encrypted messaging platforms, including WhatsApp and Telegram, as well as Element X and Session.

"During the investigation of his mobile phone and social media chat history, we have found some very serious information. He was in touch with several Pakistan-based handlers through encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram," Sharma said.

TAGS