In a significant anti-terror operation, the West Bengal Police Special Task Force (STF) arrested a 24-year-old man identified as Hamim Mondal from a gym inside a gated residential complex in Burdwan (Purba Bardhaman) late on Thursday. The suspect, described by investigators as a fitness enthusiast who regularly worked out, was picked up around 8 pm while exercising at the Renaissance Fitness Studio in Renaissance Township off NH-2.
STF personnel, who had placed him under surveillance earlier in the evening, approached him inside the gym, allowed him to collect his bag and phone, and took him into custody. CCTV footage from the facility reportedly captured the operation. Mondal had been living with his family in a rented apartment in the same township for about three months, introducing himself to neighbours as an IT professional.
Inspector General of Police (STF) Gaurav Sharma addressed a press conference in Kolkata on Saturday and detailed the findings. He said Mondal was a suspected operative of the Pakistan-based banned outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and had remained in contact with Pakistan-based handlers for over a year, primarily through social media and encrypted platforms.
“The chief minister was one of the targets. Hamim had been assigned by Pakistan-based handlers the task of keeping a watch on the CM’s movements. He was asked to gather information on the places the chief minister could remain unguarded,” Sharma stated. He added that digital evidence recovered from Mondal’s devices showed the suspect had been tracking Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s travel routes, vehicle movements and daily schedule.
Sharma further revealed that the conspiracy extended beyond one individual. “There was a plan to somehow procure a police uniform and carry out sabotage at the recent students’ protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Besides that, several police officers and politicians were also planned to be targeted,” he said. Investigators identified handlers operating under aliases including ‘Rana’, ‘Uzair’, ‘Abid Jatt 333’ and ‘Hamad’, believed to be linked to the Shahzad Bhatti - Azmal Gujjar network, which is associated with radicalisation, narcotics-linked funding and recruitment.
Preliminary findings indicate Mondal first connected with the network via Instagram about a year ago before shifting communications to WhatsApp, Telegram and other encrypted apps. Devices and documents seized from him are undergoing forensic examination. A woman named Arpita Sarkar, who was in contact with Mondal, was also arrested in connection with the case. Investigators are examining whether she played a role in related activities, including attempts to gather personal information on political figures.
Mondal, whose documents list his date of birth as 18 December 2002, is a native of the Purba Bardhaman region. Before shifting to the Burdwan township with his father, brother and sister, he had worked tagging barcodes at a garment factory in Howrah’s Pilkhana area and briefly stayed in a rented accommodation in New Town, near the Chief Minister’s residence area. He left the factory job shortly before the recent Assembly elections. Neighbours in the township said the family kept a low profile and appeared ordinary.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari described the matter as “extremely sensitive” with international links and national security implications, stating that the STF would place the facts before the public. He also noted that Minister of State Umesh Rai had come under the scanner. Mondal was produced before a court in Purba Bardhaman and remanded to police custody for further interrogation in Kolkata.
