Missing mobile phone may have clues on Bangladeshi national's terror links, suspect Bengal cops

Kolkata (The Uttam Hindu): Selim Matabbar, the illegal Bangladeshi infiltrator arrested in Kolkata last week might have some terror connections, suspect the investigating officials of Kolkata Police probing the matter. Sources said the investigating officials are desperately trying to track his mobile phone handset, which was missing when he was arrested from a hotel in the Park Street area in central Kolkata on the morning of November 30.

The investigating officials suspect that the missing mobile phone might provide crucial information about the people whom Matabbar interacted with frequently, and from that it could be deciphered whether he had terror links or not. The nature of his operations since his illegal entry to the Indian side almost two years back creates suspicion that he was up to something big. First after crossing the borders illegally, he started residing at Bangaon near the India-Bangladesh International Borders in the North 24 Parganas district.

Thereafter, sources added, from a local agent operating out of another India-Bangladesh bordering district of Nadia he first managed to get a fake Aadhaar card and subsequently a fake Indian passport where he identified himself as Rabi Sharma and a resident of Rajasthan. He shifted to Kolkata and by virtue of his fake Indian identities he managed to get a job at a hotel at Marquis Street under Park Street Police station. Sources said that he deliberately chose a hotel in the area since that particular area has several hotels where rooms are hired round-the-year by Bangladeshi citizens coming to India with valid visas, including medical visas.

The investigating officials have already got information that after illegally crossing over to India Matabbar had connections with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The second question that the investigating officials are trying to get an answer to is about the source of funds for his survival in India before finally securing the job at the Kolkata hotel. Investigating officials suspect without a strong local network it was impossible to clandestinely operate in West Bengal for such a long period,