The judicial custody of five Bangladeshi nationals, who were arrested earlier in March by the Maharashtra Anti Terror Squad (ATS) for allegedly having terrorist links, has been extended till April 20.
The individuals were nabbed by the ATS' Pune force for their links with the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a banned terror outfit of Bangladesh, which was supposedly a front organisation for the al-Qaeda.
Following their arrest on March 17, the accused were sent to police custody till March 29, which has been extended to April 5 and again to April 20.
The Maharashtra ATS's Pune unit had got information about several illegal Bangladeshi immigrants living in Wanvadi and Akurdi area in and around Pune. These illegal migrants were suspected of having links to the ABT and providing shelter to other ABT members who came to Pune.
While carrying out search operations in the area, one person was apprehended in Wanvadi area, who, during interrogation, told the police about more Bangladeshi migrants. This led to the arrest of two more suspects from Akurdi area.
Initial inquiries revealed that these Bangladeshi migrants were living in India without any valid papers. They were also found to be in possession of forged documents like Aadhar Card, Pan Card and so on.
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