New Delhi: A senior IPS officer in a research paper submitted to the union government has said that "talent spotting" is done in madrassas, especially in places such as Deoband by radicalized pro-Al Qaeda members posing as students.
Aparna N, posted as superintendent of police in the Dhubri district of Assam said in the research paper that during the talent spotting period, “they identify likely individuals and give them Dawat (invitation) and required technical knowhow of secure communication, fake SIM cards etc. Since the students come from different parts of the country, they act as a useful financial as well as logistical conduit for infiltration of Bangladeshi cadres into the country.”
Titled “Tackling Radical Organizations – The Road Ahead”, the research paper was submitted in the recently held meeting of DGPs and IGPs in New Delhi. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The officer said that recent instances of radicalization include the modules of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a banned outfit affiliated to Al Qaeda seen in different parts of the country, and activities of PFI and affiliate organizations.
During the interrogation of the ABT modules it was learned that the intent was to create a critical mass of radicalized individuals to overthrow the existing system of governance, she said. The members of groups such as ABT sanctify their efforts at radicalization through pious references to the Quran and the Hadith presenting a truer, purer, and more authentic Islam with a highly selective interpretation of sacred texts.
“For example, a radicalized ABT cadre in Assam who was a well-known and respected Imam in a Masjid and ran his own Madrassa was told to raise further Ansars by impressing upon as many people the urgent need to make Muslims in India free. He stated that all Muslims should follow every aspect of the Quran and should wage jihad as a true Muslim,” said Aparna in her research paper.
Quoting the arrested ABT cadre, Aparna said, “He said as a part of a universal Muslim brotherhood, everyone should come together to overthrow the existing system of governance and should strive to establish Islamic Law/Sharia Law.” "The focus was not on armed warfare but on making a critical mass of people ideologically ready. To facilitate this, it is seen that Jihadist literature is often translated into vernacular languages and given to the modules to popularize it among the public. Videos/social media content circulated on Telegram/Conversations are often in regional languages for ease of propagation," the paper read.
“The modules are set up in a compartmentalized manner in the hotspot areas and the module heads are given the task of radicalizing as many members as possible using the Jihadist literature that is passed on to them,” she said in the paper.
Since these members would go back to their respective places and start working as Imams in mosques or in madrassas, they are in a convenient position to give shelter to Bangladeshi nationals by providing them with local logistics and other support functions as well as to organize mass religious gatherings to propagate their radical ideologies, the officer said.
“They also help in the subsequent infiltration of other Bangladeshi cadres into Mosques/ Madrassas and with the help of like-minded locals merge with the local populace with the purpose of radicalization and creation of sleeper cells,” she added.
