Bangladesh-Linked Jihadi Network Radicalised Assam Youth via Social Media: Police

Assam Police have uncovered a Bangladesh-linked jihadi network that allegedly used social media platforms to radicalise and recruit youths in the state, officials said on Tuesday, describing the operation as part of a wider transnational extremist module.
According to police, investigations by the Special Task Force (STF) revealed that the network operated through online platforms such as YouTube and encrypted messaging apps, targeting impressionable youths with radical content. The probe led to the arrest of several suspects linked to the outfit Imam Mahamuder Kafila (IMK), which police say has ideological and operational links with the banned Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
Senior police officials said the radicalisation process typically began with videos and messages circulated on social media, projecting extremist religious narratives. Interested viewers were then guided to closed groups on encrypted platforms where they were exposed to ideological literature, audio-visual material and sermons aimed at indoctrination.
Investigators also found that handlers based in Bangladesh, with links extending to parts of West Bengal and Tripura, coordinated the online activity. Local operatives in Assam were allegedly tasked with expanding the network by adding new members to digital groups and maintaining contact with foreign handlers.
Police said the group’s activities went beyond propaganda, with evidence suggesting attempts to build sleeper cells and destabilise communal harmony in the region. “Social media was used as the primary tool for recruitment and radicalisation, allowing the network to operate discreetly across borders,” a senior STF officer said.
Following the arrests, the Assam Police have intensified surveillance of online platforms and stepped up coordination with central agencies to dismantle remaining links of the module. Authorities have also urged parents, educators and community leaders to remain vigilant about online radicalisation and report suspicious digital activity.
The crackdown forms part of a broader security push in Assam and the Northeast to counter extremist networks exploiting cyberspace for recruitment and propaganda, police said.