New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested 13 people after conducting searches at 16 locations across Assam, West Bengal and Kerala in a case involving an alleged network associated with the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The agency has accused the arrested people of helping an offshoot of JMB expand its network, recruit young people and spread extremist ideology in West Bengal and the northeastern states. Mobile phones, pen drives, memory cards and other digital devices were seized during the searches. The arrests were made during coordinated searches at 16 locations.
Eight people were arrested in Assam, four in West Bengal and one in Kerala, according to reports.
Case began with 2025 arrests
The agency had alleged that the group was working to spread JMB’s ideology through radicalisation, recruitment, religious indoctrination and digital platforms. The investigation is looking into Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), which the NIA describes as an offshoot or manifestation of the JMB. The agency has alleged that the group was created to spread JMB’s ideology in India and build a network in West Bengal and the northeastern states. The arrests followed an investigation into the group’s alleged activities involving radicalisation and recruitment. The investigation also examined online platforms used to reach potential recruits. Reports suggest that social media and encrypted communication platforms were ellegedly being used to spread extremist material and contact young people.
The operation is part of a case that began with arrests made by the Assam Police in December 2025. The NIA later took over the investigation and filed a chargesheet against 11 accused in June 2026. Its June chargesheet against 11 accused was filed before the NIA Special Court in Guwahati. The case goes back to December 2025, when the Assam Police’s Special Task Force arrested 11 people from the state and Tripura in an operation against an alleged IMK module.
The NIA had earlier said its investigation found an alleged conspiracy to expand the JMB network across West Bengal, Assam, Tripura and other northeastern states.
