West Bengal (Islamist/Other Conflicts): Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2016

Security has been tightened across Delhi and in several states amid fears of an impending terror attack, Zee News reports on March 7. Temples, key buildings, shopping malls, popular markets and military installations all are under security radar of the Delhi Police and other security agencies amid an intelligence input that terrorists could carry out a strike in the city and National Capital Region (NCR) region on March 7, on the occasion of Mahashivaratri.As per the Intelligence Bureau (IB) alert, 10 terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) or Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror groups are believed to have sneaked into the Indian territory through the Gujarat border. It is suspected that the terror operatives are planning to target Delhi, especially because the Parliament is in session.The Delhi Police are ensuring that CCTV cameras at all places with high footfall, like popular markets in the city and Metro stations, are functional. Patrolling across the city has been intensified. The terror alert followed discovery of an abandoned boat off the coast of Gujarat.High alert has also been sounded in Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir, apart from Delhi. Security around major religious sites in Gujarat like Somnath Temple and Akshardham and in metro cities -- Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru – has also been increased.Vital installations across the metros like railway stations and airports are also being secured. In Kolkata, security was stepped up at the NSC Bose International Airport after an e-mail threat that it would be blown up within 24 hours. The e-mail came in the airport manager's ID early yesterday and it was claimed to have been sent from Germany.  Read less...

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 17, arrested a student of mechanical engineering in Durgapur in connection with its case against the Islamic State (IS), reports Indian Express. A resident of Hooghly, Ashiq Ahmed was arrested by the agency after several days of questioning. He is alleged to be part of the Junud-al-Khilafa-e-Hind (JKH), a self-appointed IS “franchise” run on the directions of former Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Shafi Armar.Sources said Ahmed came in contact with Mohammed Nafees Khan, ‘finance chief’ of JKH, while surfing jihadi videos over the internet. Khan, who is currently under arrest, reportedly met Ahmed in Kolkata and got him appointed as ‘chief’ of JKH’s Bengal unit. “Ahmed took Khan around Kolkata to identify vital installations that could be targeted by JKH. Ahmed also expressed his intention to target a TMC MLA for the murder of a Muslim political rival. However, all these plans were still at a nascent stage,” said an NIA officer.“On instructions from Khan, Ahmed also got in touch with five youths in West Bengal and was motivating them to join jihadi activity,” said an NIA officer. Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) handed over the cases of suspected IS operatives in custody of Delhi Police and Maharashtra ATS to the NIA. Since all the accused were part of the same group, a decision was taken to hand over the cases to NIA, which has registered an “open FIR” against the IS. “The agency will soon take custody of the accused with the two police forces,” said an UMHA official. Read less...