Days after an intruder barged into the residence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, it has come to light that the accused has links to Bangladesh.
As per reports, the intruder was identified as 31-year-old Hafizul Molla. A resident of Hasnabad in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, Hafizul was apprehended after he enter the Kalighat residence on July 3 this year.
Despite the deployment of heavy security, the accused managed to remain unnoticed at her house for over 7 hours. During that time, Hafizul was armed with an iron rod that he kept concealed in his shirt.
A total of 11 SIM cards, which were used to make phone calls to Jharkhand, Bihar and Bangladesh, were recovered from him. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted to probe the security breach.
The SIT found that Hafizul Molla had recced the residence of Mamata Banerjee on 7-8 occasions since March this year. He had also captured images of the house and its precincts.
The cops have informed that CCTV footage from the past 4 months showed Hafizul in the vicinity of the Chief Minister’s residence. Reportedly, he even lured children in the neighbourhood with toffees, cold drinks and chocolates to collect information about Mamata Banerjee.
Accused had visited Bangladesh illegally via boat
It has also come to light that the accused had visited Bangladesh illegally during last year’s Durga Puja. He had boarded a boat, which took him to the other side of the Ichhamati river. It remains unknown as to whom he met during his trip to the bordering nation.
A car driver by occupation, Hafizul Molla has reportedly been jobless since the imposition of the Covid-19 lockdown. He was also involved in a case of theft in his native village of Hasnabad but Salishi Sabha (village court) let him off the hook.
On Monday (July 11), the accused’s police remand was extended by an additional 7 days.
Father of Hafizul Molla cries foul, alleges insanity
A senior officer remarked, “We submitted before court that there had been substantive development in the probe and that the investigation was still progressing. We provided every detail in the case diary. Accordingly, the accused was sent to police custody again.
In his defence, the father of Hafizul Molla alleged that his son is not mentally stable. “Hafizul had gone to Nabanna (State Secretariat) once. He was told that he could not go there without prior authorisation. But, my son did not listen. He used force and was taken away by police,” he said.
“The cops had called me then. I told them that Hafizul is not mentally fit. I recently got to know that he went to the residence of the Chief Minister…Ever since he developed mental issues, I have been unable to keep him home. Hafizul keeps on roaming here and there.”
Hafizul’s father addressed the media persons and claimed that his son wanted to marry Mamata Banerjee. “My son wanted to marry the CM. You guys tell me, is it even possible? But how will convince that retard (referring to Hafizul)?” he asked.
Bangladeshi criminal Faisal Ahmed arrested from India for the murder of Hindu blogger
The Indian law enforcement authorities made a major breakthrough on July 1 this year after they apprehended the murderer of Hindu blogger Ananta Vijay Das.
Identified as Faisal Ahmed, he has been on the run from the law enforcement authorities since 2015. Following his arrest from the Bommanhalli area in Bengaluru, he was taken to Kolkata on July 3.
The arrest was made by the Kolkata police, which also obtained information about his radical activities in the country. While speaking about the development, Bangladesh Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) DIG Moniruzzaman conceded that the authorities had information that Faisal was residing illegally in India.
He stated that the Indian law enforcement authorities were apprised about the matter and necessary documents were provided to confirm his identity, prior to Faisal’s arrest.
Reportedly, the Bangladeshi authorities provided Faisal’s mobile number to the Kolkata police. Using call records, it was found that he was staying in Bengaluru.
Once a medical student, Faisal was at the forefront of spreading jihadist ideology under the pretext of teaching in madrassas. He has also been involved with Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), affiliated with Islamist terror outfit Al-Qaeda.
During interrogation, it came to light that he was at the helm of organising the Al-Qaeda module in the Barak Valley of Assam. He admitted to fleeing to Silchar from Bangladesh in 2015 and making a fake voter ID card by the name of Shahid Majumdar.
He also acquired a passport, where his house address has been traced to Mizoram. Faisal was also successful in procuring a driver’s licence from Bengaluru.
