Bengal STF arrests aide of suspected JeM associate from Jharkhand
Kolkata: The West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Arpita Sarkar, a close aide of suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) associate Hamim Mondal, from Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district, officials said on Saturday.
According to sources, Arpita Sarkar was apprehended on Friday night after STF investigators uncovered her alleged links with Hamim Mondal during his interrogation. Acting on the leads, an STF team travelled to Sahibganj and carried out the arrest with assistance from the local police.
Hamim Mondal was arrested earlier on Friday from a residential flat in a housing complex in Burdwan town of East Burdwan district. During searches, STF personnel reportedly recovered incriminating documents relating to the schedule and movements of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, raising suspicions that he could have been a potential target.
Sources said the arrest of Arpita Sarkar has prompted investigators to probe a possible “honey-trapping” angle in the alleged network’s operations. She is expected to be produced before a Kolkata court on Saturday, where the prosecution will seek her police custody for further questioning.
A lower court on Friday remanded Hamim Mondal to 14 days of STF custody. Investigators said Arpita Sarkar’s name surfaced during his interrogation, following which a raid was conducted in Sahibganj leading to her arrest.
STF sources further claimed that Hamim Mondal maintained direct links with the Sajjad Bhat group in Kashmir. Sajjad Bhat is identified as a key accused in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, and investigators suspect Hamim Mondal to be closely associated with the group.
Officials noted that the security cover of Suvendu Adhikari has been periodically reviewed and upgraded by the Union government on the basis of central intelligence inputs, which had indicated potential threats from extremist organisations.