3 more ‘Ansarullah men’ arrested in India

Three Bangladeshi youths were arrested in Lucknow, capital city of India's Uttar Pradesh for their suspected links with banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).

The three -- Mohammad Imran, Rajiuddin and Mohammad Firdaus -- were detained in Lucknow when they were about to board Howrah-Amritsar Express train yesterday afternoon, said Inspector General of  Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) Asim Arun.

READ MORE: 'ABT man' arrested in India

During interrogation, the three youths confessed that they were residents of Bangladesh. Fake Aadhar multipurpose cards of India were found in their possession, our New Delhi correspondent reports quoting the police official.

Asim said that they were later put under arrest.

It is the second time in just over a month that Bangladeshi nationals were held by UP ATS for their suspected links with militant outfit ABT.

The names of the three youths were revealed after an ATS team on August 6 arrested a suspected Bangladeshi militant, Abdullah al-Mamoun, a resident of Mymensingh, from Muzaffarnagar district of the state.

Meanwhile, Counter-Terrorism and Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC)'s Additional Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) told The Daily Star that they were informed of the arrests.

"We are inquiring about the three arrestees," he added.

The ABT, an al-Qaeda inspired Islamist outfit, was banned by Bangladesh in 2015 for its militant and anti-state activities.

It has been accused of a series of attacks on secular writers, bloggers and publishers in Bangladesh.