Unemployed youths, primarily from the Muslim community, are being roped in by terror groups like ISIS and JMB to expand their networks in border districts of West Bengal.
Jamaatul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) has been targeting these youths and ISIS too could be following its tactics.
The recent arrest of 25-year-old Mohammed Musiruddin has exposed the presence of the terror group in the state, particularly in the districts bordering Bangladesh, including Burdwan, Murshidabad and Birbhum, a top CID official of West Bengal said on the condition of anonymity.
The group (JMB) has also spread in different pockets of the city, the official said, describing the Khagragarh blast in 2014 as a clinching proof of the existence of its bases in the state. Even NIA, in its supplementary charge sheet in connection with the Khagragarh blast, had claimed that JMB had been recruiting youths from the border districts of West Bengal.
The official described the recruitment process thus:
Unemployed youths are the main targets of terror groups. JMB had been doing that and the ISIS has started the same process. They have handlers who supervise one to two districts and keep a tab on educated but unemployed youths including girls in the age group of 16-30 years, preferably from the Muslim community. The brainwashing starts from the first meeting which helps them convince the youth to join the group. And from there, they are moved to the training camps in the bordering districts
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)