Indrani Roy/Rediff.com, who has been on the trail of terror operations from Burdwan to Dhaka, reports on how the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen recruits and trains terrorists in West Bengal.
Fatema Akhtar heads the women's wing of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh. She is the wife of Burdwan blast case prime accused Sajeed. Fatema has also reportedly confessed to having trained at least 30 women terrorists in India.
Fatema, left, who was arrested on November 22 by the Bangladesh police from Dhaka's Sadarghat area, revealed how the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh set up 'couple modules' in various parts of West Bengal.
Following her arrest, Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told the media that Fatema had trained women recruits at Burdwan's Simulia madrassa.
The Simulia madrassa allegedly had links with Gulshana Bibi and Amina Bibi, the two women arrested for their alleged involvement in the Burdwan blast.
Sources told Rediff.com that Fatema recruited women from poor families, indoctrinated them and later trained the women in jihad.
"Impoverished parents of young girls would hand the girls over to Fatema who promised to take care of them," sources said.
The Simulia madrassa had an unwritten convention: The young women trained there would be married only to men who were on the same 'mission.'
The Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh set up 'couple modules' which worked very well as it was easy to get houses on rent in Bengal if it was a 'family.'
After marriage, the couples were sent to various parts of Bengal to carry out the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh's terror plans.
The women arrested in connection with the Burdwan blast have infant children. Fatema has a 20-month-old baby.
The October 2 blast in Burdwan in West Bengal killed two men and prompted India's National Investigation Agency to expand its probe to Bangladesh-based terror groups.
Sources told Rediff.com that a four-member NIA team visited Dhaka last week where Indian agents shared information, including phone numbers, with the Dhaka Metropolitan Police which led to Fatema's arrest along with three others -- Abdullah Kazi, Isharat Ali Sheikh and Shaukat Sardar.
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