Kolkata/Burdwan : Police on Saturday arrested suspected Jaish terrorist Hamim Mondal’s girlfriend, Arpita Sarkar, from Jharkhand’s Sahibganj and said they are probing the duo’s alleged plan to foment trouble at Jantar Mantar, the site of last month’s students’ protest. Hamim, who was allegedly tracking CM Suvendu Adhikari, was arrested from Burdwan on Friday.“Hamim was working under instructions received over social media and encrypted messaging apps from Pakistani handles and phone numbers. He was instructed to buy police uniforms and head to Jantar Mantar with a group of men and women to create disturbance. We are yet to ascertain if he was able to build that team and travel to Delhi,” Special Task Force IG Gaurav Sharma said on Saturday.STF tracked down Arpita while probing Hamim’s alleged links with Pakistan-based terror outfits. Cops said the two have known each other for four years but Arpita is not Hamim’s only accomplice. Cops are investigating a recruitment network built by him over the past four-five months.Arpita is suspected of being involved in a honey-trap network that targeted influential people, including politicians. She was recently involved in honey-trapping the son of a state minister, officers said. She was produced before a Burdwan court and sent to STF custody for 13 days.Investigators suspect Hamim was part of an ISI-backed module tasked with gathering intelligence on VIPs, recruiting operatives and preparing the ground for possible terror activities in Bengal.Hamim was allegedly recruited by Pakistan-based handlers around four-five months ago and tasked with bringing more men and women into the network. He roped in Arpita, among others. Cops suspect the recruits were asked to track the movements of senior politicians and police officers and gather information on possible targets.“The investigation is still at a very nascent stage, and more persons are likely to be arrested in the coming days,” Sharma said.Investigators said Hamim and his Pakistan-based handlers communicated through WhatsApp, Telegram, Element X and Session. STF officers have identified four Pakistan-based handles — Abir Jat333, Uzair, Rana and Hamad — that were allegedly used to send instructions and assign tasks.“It is suspected that these handles are linked to Pakistan’s Shahzad Bhatti gang. Through them, fundamentalist propaganda was spread and youths were targeted for brainwashing. These Pakistani handles also used SIM cards from Britain and Mexico,” Sharma said.Arpita was picked up after investigators found Instagram chats between her and Hamim. “She helped Hamim develop contacts with influential political figures and collect their personal details. We are examining digital evidence and verifying the exact nature of her role,” an STF officer said.Police said while Hamim’s ancestral home is in Dirghanagar village under Monteswar police station of East Burdwan , his father, Moniruddin, had lived in Howrah’s Pilkhana area since 1998 for work. Three months ago, the family moved to a residential township in Burdwan , where Hamim posed as an IT employee.
