A Special Cell officer has confirmed that the probe was transferred to the NIA last week. A Special Cell officer has confirmed that the probe was transferred to the NIA last week.

Two months after the Delhi Police’s Special Cell arrested a suspected Al-Qaeda operative, who allegedly set up base camps for Rohingya fighters in the Northeast, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe the case thoroughly.

Samiun Rahman, alias Shumon Haq, alias Raju Bhai, was arrested from Shakarpur area of east Delhi on September 18. He reportedly told interrogators that he is a citizen of the UK, and that he has been active with the Al Qaeda since 2013.

The arrest had come on the day the Centre had submitted an affidavit in Supreme Court, describing Rohingya refugees as a “very serious and potential threat to national security”.

A countrymade pistol of 9 mm calibre, a laptop and a mobile phone were recovered from Rahman and a case under Sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2008, and Arms Act was registered.

Sources said investigators have informed the government about the possibility of Rahman, 27, working on pan-India operations.

A Special Cell officer has confirmed that the probe was transferred to the NIA last week.

Investigators claimed to have recovered Rahman’s alleged conversation on cloud-based instant messaging service Telegram with handlers from Bangladesh and Pakistan from his laptop. The Special Cell had claimed that Rahman had visited Morocco, Mauritania, Turkey, Syria, Bangladesh and India on “suspected terror activities”.

According to the police, Rahman had visited Nabiganj (in Sylhet), Dhaka and other places in Bangladesh and radicalised over a dozen youths there. He was allegedly arrested in Bangladesh on suspicion of terror activities in 2014 and released on bail in this year.

Sources said the NIA will contact their counterparts in Bangladesh to get the details of his case.

The Special Cell has claimed that Rahman arrived in India in July 2017 to set up base in Mizoram and Manipur, raise funds and incite the youth to fight for the cause of the Rohingya and facilitate their entry from Mizoram and Manipur borders with Myanmar.

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