That’s pretty much what happened with this case that West Bengal’s Special Task Force just cracked open. A young guy from Bardhaman and a girl from Jharkhand, who first met online, ended up in the middle of what police are calling a Pakistan-linked terror module. And it was her social media trail that helped pull the whole thing into the light.
Hamim Mondal, around 24 years old, was picked up late last month from a rented place in Renaissance Complex in Burdwan town. The STF says he is a suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed operative who had been taking instructions from handlers across the border. His alleged job included keeping tabs on Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s movements. Think about that for a second — tracking a sitting chief minister. That’s not some casual side hustle. Investigators recovered digital material, encrypted chats, and even international SIMs that pointed to ongoing contact with people outside India.
Then there’s Arpita Sarkar. She’s 22, from Sahibganj in Jharkhand, and police describe her as a social media influencer of sorts. The two of them connected on social media about four years ago. What started as online chatting turned into a relationship, and according to the STF, into something more operational. Arpita was arrested from her home state by the same West Bengal team. Officers say she helped with honey-trap style approaches — striking up WhatsApp chats, gathering phone numbers, photos of people and houses, doing reconnaissance on politicians and other VIPs. One of the names that came up was the son of a senior politician from Howrah. She allegedly collected sensitive information and passed it along under Hamim’s direction.
The part that really jumps out is the Jantar Mantar angle. You remember those student protests in Delhi recently, the ones tied to the Cockroach Janta Party and the NEET paper leak issues? The STF claims Hamim was told by his handlers to get hold of a police uniform, slip into the crowd at Jantar Mantar, and create some kind of sabotage or disturbance. Disguised as a cop in the middle of a big public gathering — that’s a classic way to create chaos and then melt away. Officials say conversations recovered from the phones talked about exactly that plan. Whether it was meant to be a full-blown attack or just enough disruption to make headlines and spread panic, the intent was clear enough for the police to treat it as a serious threat.
IG Gaurav Sharma of the STF has spoken about the links to multiple Pakistani groups. Some reports mention contact with the Shehzad Bhatti gang and even names connected to older high-profile attacks. Mondal and Sarkar were said to be fully aware of what they were doing. The pair is now being questioned together, face to face, while forensic teams go through the phones, chats, and documents.
What makes this case feel especially modern is how ordinary the entry points look. Social media. WhatsApp. A girlfriend who posts online. A rented flat in a regular complex. No dramatic border crossing or hidden training camps in the initial picture — just digital footprints that investigators followed. Police say more people are under watch, and the module appears to have had broader ambitions beyond just the chief minister and the Delhi protest. Tracking officers, collecting information on houses, trying to get close to influential families — it all points to a long-term intelligence-gathering effort dressed up in everyday relationships.
Of course, these are still allegations at this stage. Both have been produced in court, Hamim was remanded to police custody, and the investigation is ongoing. The STF has been careful to say they are piecing together the full picture from the digital evidence and interrogations. But the recovery of those international SIMs and the specific talk about police uniforms at Jantar Mantar has given the probe a sharp focus.
It’s the kind of story that makes you look twice at how easily online connections can be turned into something operational. A girl from Jharkhand and a guy from Bardhaman, linked through social media, allegedly pulled into a network that wanted to hit political targets and public spaces. The girlfriend’s online presence and chats, instead of staying private, became the thread that investigators pulled on. In the end, that digital trail is what helped expose the alleged plot before it could move any further.
Sources:
Reports from West Bengal STF briefings and coverage by The Telegraph, India TV, New Indian Express, Connected to India, Firstpost, Moneycontrol, and related PTI dispatches based on official statements from IG Gaurav Sharma and the Special Task Force.
@Rohit Manral
