Kolkata, September 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a mosque Imam in Palishgram village of West Bengal’s East Burdwan district on suspicion of links with terror networks.
The arrested Imam has been identified as Piar Mohammad Sheikh, who had been serving at a mosque in Palishgram village under Mangalkot Police Station. He is originally from Kulut village in the Monteswar area of the same district.
According to sources, an NIA team, assisted by local police personnel, carried out an operation at the Palishgram Purbapara mosque on Tuesday morning and detained Sheikh from the premises. Investigators subsequently searched the room where he had been staying and seized a diary and a mobile phone.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the diary contained contact numbers of several Bangladeshi nationals. Sheikh was taken to Mangalkot Police Station for questioning, where NIA officials are seeking further information from him.
The arrest came as a surprise to many local residents, who said Sheikh had been associated with the mosque for around three years. Some villagers said they had not suspected him of having links with terrorist groups based in Bangladesh.
However, mosque committee member Golam Mustafa and some local residents said Sheikh used to travel to Bangladesh frequently. One villager claimed that Sheikh had recently spent nearly six months in Bangladesh before returning to Palishgram a few months ago.
NIA officials have not disclosed whether Sheikh’s arrest is connected to parallel raids and search operations conducted by separate agency teams at five locations across different districts of West Bengal since Tuesday morning.
The NIA is investigating alleged sleeper cells linked to Bangladesh-based militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The raids and searches in West Bengal were carried out in connection with a case registered in neighbouring Assam, based on specific information gathered by the central agency.
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