Bengal Cops Identify Youths Targeted by 3 Arrested JMB Activists for Sleeper Cells

West Bengal Police has been able to get detailed information about several youths, some even minors, in different pockets of the state who were targeted by the three recently-arrested associates of Bangladesh-based fundamentalist group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) for brainwashing and subsequent induction in the sleeper cell of that outfit.

- AGENCIES

Sources said that these three arrested JMB activists followed a specific pattern for targeting the youths for brainwashing.

First, the targeted youths were contacted individually and encouraged to participate in programs reportedly meant for religious teachings.

"The main motive behind such programs," sources added, "was to brainwash these youths and subsequently induct them in the local sleeper cells of the JMB. At those programs, the participating youth were distributed books and videos, which under the facade of religious texts and literature, subtly gave the messages of jihad."

In the initial sessions, sources added, the task of the arrested associates was to identify those targeted youths with long-term conviction and dedication to pursue the bigger aims of the outfit.