The West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) on Monday arrested another suspected associate of alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operative Hamim Mondal from Howrah in connection with an ongoing probe into an alleged espionage network, a senior officer said.
The accused, identified as Aditya Singh alias Raj alias Raju, was apprehended from Belilious Road in neighbouring Howrah following leads obtained during the interrogation of Mondal and his alleged associate, Arpita Sarkar, he said.
"The latest arrest was made based on specific leads that emerged during the investigation. We are now focused on identifying others linked to the alleged network. So far we have arrested three persons in this connection," a senior STF officer said, without divulging further details.
Suspect allegedly monitored minister's movements
Investigators suspect Aditya came in contact with Mondal through an online gaming platform and was subsequently drawn into the alleged conspiracy.
According to the STF officer, Mondal allegedly used the opportunity to brainwash Aditya and draw him into his network.
"Mondal assigned him the task to keep a close watch on Minister of State for Urban Development Umesh Rai and his son. He is suspected to have collected information related to them and shared it with the accused," the STF official said.
Giving more details about the role of the arrested accused, the official said Aditya is suspected to have photographed the movements of Rai and sent them to Mondal.
"We are investigating whether they were planning to target the minister," he said.
STF examines possible terror links ahead of Independence Day
"The investigation is at a crucial stage. We are trying to ascertain the role played by each individual and identify the entire chain of communication. Information gathered during interrogation will help us understand the network and its activities in detail," he said.
The officer said the STF was also trying to find out if the accused were planning to carry out any terror strike in the run-up to Independence Day celebrations.
"Our priority is to unearth all possible links. We are examining every piece of evidence collected during the investigation," he said.