NIA begins probe into AQIS bid to recruit from sub-continent

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started a probe into an alleged conspiracy to radicalise and recruit the youngsters in the name of al-Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS), by establishing a base in West Bengal, and implement ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ in India, people familiar with the development said The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started a probe into an alleged conspiracy to radicalise and recruit the youngsters in the name of al-Qaeda in the Indian sub-continent (AQIS), by establishing a base in West Bengal, and implement ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’ in India, people familiar with the development said.India NewsThe federal agency has filed a first information report (FIR) in the matter against 19 individuals including two key members of the module - Abdur Rakib Sarkar alias Habibullah and Kazi Ahasan Ullah and their unknown associates, after the ministry of home affairs (MHA) asked it to unearth the larger conspiracy.“A case has been filed on information that members of AQIS, which has also been called ‘al Qaida Barr-E-Sagir’, in West Bengal was propagating terrorism by radicalizing like-minded youths and carrying out regular recruitment with a view to overthrow the democratically elected government to establish ‘Shariah rule’ in India as well as Bangladesh, and implement Ghazwa-e-Hind,” said an officer, who asked not to be named.In August this year, the UN Security Council expressed concerns in a report that AQIS was trying to exploit Bangladesh to establish cells there.Established in 2014, AQIS is a branch of al-Qaeda that operates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Myanmar and Bangladesh. It seeks to wage Jihad in order to establish an Islamic state. Ghazwa-e-Hind loosely translates as ‘battle for India’ and is used by several terror groups to justify their terror strikes as religious holy war against India.The Kashmir unit of AQIS - Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH) - led by a group of doctors had carried out a suicide bombing near the Red Fort on November 10 last year. AGuH was formed in July 2017 by Zakir Rashid Bhat alias Zakir Musa, once a close aide of Burhan Wani, after parting ways with Hizbul Mujahideen. To be sure, there is no link between the latest cases filed by the NIA and the Red Fort attack.On Tuesday, the NIA had arrested 13 people from Assam, Keralam and West Bengal and carried out raids at 16 locations into a cross-border terror conspiracy and radicalisation network linked to Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), which investigators have described as an offshoot of the banned Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). JMB was banned by the Indian government in 2019. There have been recent intelligence reports that JMB and AQIS are trying to revive their activities in West Bengal, Assam and nearby areas.Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read MoreTerrorismNiaGet the latest India News, breaking headlines, and real-time updates from across the nation. Stay informed on politics, government policies, crime, weather, and major national developments.