They were believed to have links with the outlawed Ansarullah Bangla Team, the militant outfit also called as Ansar Bangla

Three Bangladeshi nationals were arrested by the city unit of the Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Saturday on suspicion of being part of an Al Qaeda-inspired Islamic extremist organization.

The trio, who had been apparently residing using forged identity papers, were believed to have links with the outlawed Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) – the militant outfit also called as Ansar Bangla, said ATS sources.

“The suspects were picked up for questioning from the city’s Akurdi and Wanowrie areas. They were residing illegally with forged Aadhaar and PAN cards which were retrieved from their persons. We are interrogating them to ascertain the nature of their association with the ABT, and their role here,” said an ATS officer.

Two of those nabbed hailed from Khulna, while the other came from Shariatpur district in Bangladesh.

The city ATS team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ATS) Sunil Darekar acted on a tip-off received on Friday about an alleged ‘infiltrator’ from Bangladesh living in the Kondhwa-Wanorie area.

On detaining and quizzing the suspect, the team secured information about the whereabouts of the other two Bangladeshi nationals.