Guwahati: Most wanted jihadi Sahanur Alom who hails from Chatala village in Barpeta district of Assam, was once arrested by Barpeta police in July this year only to let him off under pressure from some ‘higher authority’.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) has put the name of Sahanur in the list of persons wanted in connection with Burdwan blast case. The NIA believes that Sahanur has close links with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and has been instrumental in expansion of Jihadi network in Assam.
Sahanur had stirred the hornet’s nest in the native village at Chatala on July 28 last by organizing an unusual ‘namaaz’ on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitre at the yard of one Anuwar Hussain Mallick, a teacher in the village. The ‘namaaz’ was attended by a group of persons who were carrying weapons.
Local villagers opposed holding the namaaz and that sparked conflict between the group and villagers.
In view of the gravity of the situation, police arrived in the village prompt and arrested Sahanur and few others to bring the situation under control. However, all of them were released later by the police under alleged ‘pressure from higher ups’.
The episode of Saha-nur’s arrest and subse-quent release has come to the fore during the investigation by the NIA in connection with Burdwan blast.