Bengal police STF nabs trained militant of Kashmir near Indo-Bangla border

Kolkata: In a major success, the Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police (WBP) nabbed a trained militant of Kashmir near the Indo-Bangla border on Saturday night.

The militant specialises in making IEDs and arranging weapons for terror activities. The arrest was made by the STF within just three days of arrest of two militants belonging to the terror outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), linked to the Jamaat-ulMujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), from Hariharpara in Murshidabad during a joint raid with the Assam Police. The militant identified as Javed Munshi was handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police who would take him to Kashmir.

Trinamool Congress leader Firhad Hakim said: “We have a zero tolerance policy. National security is the responsibility of the Centre. I will request the Union Home minister to strengthen the Border Security Force (BSF).”

Sources said that for the past few weeks, STF personnel were keeping a strict vigil on the movement of Munshi on the basis of specific source input. When cops learnt about Munshi’s native place in Kashmir, cops got in touch with the J&K Police from where STF officials learnt that the person they were tracking on suspicion is a militant trained in Pakistan.

Also, Bengal STF came to know from the J&K Police that Munshi is an IED expert and weapons having connection with the banned terrorist organization Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM).

The TuM also has connections with the Lashkar-e- Taiba. The accused is allegedly involved in several terror activities including his involvement in the murder of a religious leader in Kashmir during 2011. During a preliminary interrogation, Munshi admitted that he had visited Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan several times earlier on instructions of his handlers using fake Pakistani passports. Police have come to know that Munshi had come to Bengal to infiltrate Bangladesh again on the instruction of Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives. Later, STF personnel handed over Munshi to J&K Police who would take him to Kashmir on transit remand.

Two militants belonging to the sleeper cell of the ABT were given the task of brainwashing and inducting youths from Murshidabad and Alipurduar.

Police while probing further came to know that the Bangladeshi militant groups are targeting the chicken’s neck of India, also known as the Siliguri corridor, the only connectivity with the seven states of the North East India commonly known as seven sisters.

The state police was also successful in recently cracking the murder of a percussionist in the Katihar Express. The accused ‘serial killer’ was brought in remand from Gujarat