By Anwesha Bhaumik

Kolkata, Jul 12 (IANS): Three suspected terrorists of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) have been nabbed from Kolkata's Haridevpur area.

The three were picked up from a rented flat in Haridevpur on the western suburbs of the city on Sunday evening.

They were identified as Mikhail Khan, Rabiul Islam and Naziur Rahman, all hailing from Gopalgunj, home district of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Police said the three were staying in Kolkata for a few months on pretext of medical treatment of a relative.

"But they were actually raising funds and trying to recruit local Muslims for jihadi actions," said an officer of Kolkata Police special task force.

Bangladesh intelligence has confirmed the identity and affiliations of the three arrested.

An intelligence official in Dhaka told IANS that the three would surely have links with other JMB activists active in West Bengal and south India. "So it was necessary to launch follow-up operations based on leads these three may provide."

Bangladesh has long expressed worries about their Islamist terrorists escaping into India, specially into West Bengal, some of whom return to the country to launch attacks.

Indian and Bangladesh have developed close intelligence cooperation in the last decade as part of Hasina's determined bid to stamp out terror and not allow its soil to be used for terror strikes against India.

Some top JMB leaders like Abu Musa have been arrested in West Bengal, but few like Salahuddin Salehin are still at large.