Dhaka attack: IS publishes propaganda material in Bengali, alert issued

Guwahati: In what could be a very worrying development for the security agencies in India, Islamic State (IS) modules are publishing propaganda material in Bengali on a large scale in Bangladesh.

Security sources told this paper that IS have begun to publish propaganda in Bengali while earlier their choice of languages was Arabic, English, French, German and Turkish.

Security sources said the ISIS messages were in a dialect that can be read and understood in West Bengal and in the Northeastern states of India. An ISIS video mentioning Assam has also been discovered.

Clarifying that India is yet to assess the threat perception arising out of the recent attack in Dhaka, security sources said the Ministry of Home Affairs has directed states bordering Bangladesh to take specific steps to check possible attempts by radical elements to cross over to India.

Pointing out there was no reason to panic, they said the immediate concern for India was to stop the inflow of radical elements from Bangladesh in the aftermath of the Dhaka attack.

Bangladesh has already started mounting pressure on radical groups responsible for the recent killings, so there is a possibility of these extremists trying to cross over to India to escape security forces in that country.

In view of this, Border Security Force (BSF) jawans have been directed to intensify patrolling along the International Border.

Security agencies have also started verifying the status of jihadi elements arrested by forces in West Bengal and Assam. Sources said all necessary steps have been taken to check infiltration by ISIS into India. Security agencies have also been asked to keep a check on those who have been released on bail after being accused of terror activities.