Staff Reporter :
Assault rifles used in the city’s Gulshan Holey Artisan Bakery attack were manufactured in West Bengal of India with the help of Pakistani experts.
One of the six terrorists arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Police Kolkata in connection with the Khagragarh blast told it to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India, report Agencies.
According to the arrested terrorist, Pakistani tribal gunsmiths clandestinely visited Malda district of West Bengal to train gunsmiths from Munger, who set up base in the border district to make AK-22 assault rifles. These weapons were then smuggled into Bangladesh via Chapainawabganj district.
The NIA investigators suspect that the Pakistanis, who conducted the training, were from the Darra Adam Khel community that resides in a village located between Peshawar and Kohat. The community is believed to regularly help the Taliban in duplicating modern weapons.
“We are not sure yet, but the language they used is spoken in and around the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan where the village is located,” a senior NIA officer said.
Bangladesh Police have already alleged that the weapons used in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack were sourced from across the BD-Indo border.
The country’s Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime (CTTC) Unit Chief Monirul Islam had categorically mentioned Munger in this connection. Thereafter, Bihar police had launched an investigation into the matter. “The Bihar police in a communique to West Bengal police confirmed that the arms manufacturers and smugglers had set up units in Malda and other places in Bengal,” an STF officer said.
The NIA believes that the shipment of AK-22 rifles and pistols reached the terrorists in Dhaka a month before the Gulshan terror strike. But what has intrigued the NIA officers is the duplication of AK-22 rifles instead of the AK-47, which is more popular among both terrorists and security agencies. AK-22, a semi-automatic rifle originally manufactured in Romania, is uncommon in India, and hence, difficult to duplicate.
“The uncomplicated AK-22 is a low-range weapon, easy to use by even greenhorns and has a short range. It was the perfect weapon for the youngsters who carried out the terror attack in the Dhaka Bakery,” an NIA officer said.
If expert gunsmiths did come from Darra Adam Khel to train men in Malda, investigation agencies have reasons to worry. For, these Pakistani tribals can copy nearly any weapon, from pen pistols and hand-grenades to automatic rifles and anti-aircraft guns. Darra gunsmiths are said to have the ability to duplicate any new rifle within 10 days.
Six JMB terrorists were arrested from Assam and West Bengal in September.
On October 4, a consignment of AK22 rifles and some small arms reached the militants in Dhaka, said CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam.
Earlier, five pistols were used in the Gulshan attack that killed 23 people, including 17 foreigners and two police officials on July 1.
Assault rifles used in the city’s Gulshan Holey Artisan Bakery attack were manufactured in West Bengal of India with the help of Pakistani experts.
One of the six terrorists arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of Police Kolkata in connection with the Khagragarh blast told it to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India, report Agencies.
According to the arrested terrorist, Pakistani tribal gunsmiths clandestinely visited Malda district of West Bengal to train gunsmiths from Munger, who set up base in the border district to make AK-22 assault rifles. These weapons were then smuggled into Bangladesh via Chapainawabganj district.
The NIA investigators suspect that the Pakistanis, who conducted the training, were from the Darra Adam Khel community that resides in a village located between Peshawar and Kohat. The community is believed to regularly help the Taliban in duplicating modern weapons.
“We are not sure yet, but the language they used is spoken in and around the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan where the village is located,” a senior NIA officer said.
Bangladesh Police have already alleged that the weapons used in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack were sourced from across the BD-Indo border.
The country’s Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime (CTTC) Unit Chief Monirul Islam had categorically mentioned Munger in this connection. Thereafter, Bihar police had launched an investigation into the matter. “The Bihar police in a communique to West Bengal police confirmed that the arms manufacturers and smugglers had set up units in Malda and other places in Bengal,” an STF officer said.
The NIA believes that the shipment of AK-22 rifles and pistols reached the terrorists in Dhaka a month before the Gulshan terror strike. But what has intrigued the NIA officers is the duplication of AK-22 rifles instead of the AK-47, which is more popular among both terrorists and security agencies. AK-22, a semi-automatic rifle originally manufactured in Romania, is uncommon in India, and hence, difficult to duplicate.
“The uncomplicated AK-22 is a low-range weapon, easy to use by even greenhorns and has a short range. It was the perfect weapon for the youngsters who carried out the terror attack in the Dhaka Bakery,” an NIA officer said.
If expert gunsmiths did come from Darra Adam Khel to train men in Malda, investigation agencies have reasons to worry. For, these Pakistani tribals can copy nearly any weapon, from pen pistols and hand-grenades to automatic rifles and anti-aircraft guns. Darra gunsmiths are said to have the ability to duplicate any new rifle within 10 days.
Six JMB terrorists were arrested from Assam and West Bengal in September.
On October 4, a consignment of AK22 rifles and some small arms reached the militants in Dhaka, said CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam.
Earlier, five pistols were used in the Gulshan attack that killed 23 people, including 17 foreigners and two police officials on July 1.
