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The West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) linked terror suspect, Hamim Mondal, who allegedly planned to target Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari. Mondal, who was arrested from Purba Bardhaman district, was also tasked by his Pakistan-based handlers to infiltrate a student protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi while disguised in a police uniform to cause unrest.
According to Inspector General (STF) Gaurav Sharma, Mondal was asked to monitor the chief minister’s movements and identify locations where security might be compromised. Following his interrogation, court authorities placed Mondal in 14 days of STF custody, while investigators uncovered broader links to JeM handlers operating in West Bengal and Pakistan.
Additionally, Mondal's girlfriend, Arpita Sarkar, was arrested in Jharkhand for conspiring to honeytrap and kidnap the son of state minister Umesh Ray for extortion. Investigations revealed that Sarkar had honey-trapped several prominent individuals, including politicians, passing gathered information to Mondal. International SIM cards from the UK and Mexico were seized, which officials suspect were used for encrypted communications with cross-border handlers.