Arrested Tehreek-e-Mujahideen Member Planned to Use B'desh Route to Reach Pakistan

Kolkata: The arrested member of the 'Tehreek-e-Mujahideen' terror outfit from Kashmir was planning to use the river route to travel to Bangladesh and eventually escape to Pakistan, a senior officer of the West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) said on Monday.

Bengal STF officials also believe that the arrested person, identified as Javed Munshi, has close ties with the Lashkar-e-Taiba terror group. Investigators are working to decode the notes seized from his possession to uncover more details about his plans, the officer added.

Munshi was arrested by a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police and West Bengal Police STF from near Canning in South 24 Parganas district on Sunday.

"Munshi was planning to take the river route to reach Bangladesh, from where he intended to escape to Pakistan. Bangladesh could serve as a safe passage for him, which is why he traveled to Bengal from Kashmir," the officer told PTI.

The 'Tehreek-e-Mujahideen' group is controlled from Pakistan and has connections with other terror outfits in the valley, as well as in Pakistan and Bangladesh, the officer added.

The 58-year-old man was considering multiple routes to reach Bangladesh, including traveling by road from Canning to Dhamakhali, and then using river routes through the Sunderbans.

Another option was to take the Raimangal river to Hemnagar in Hingalganj, a short distance from Bangladesh, or to reach Khulna via Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district, the officer said.

During the arrest, the STF seized an Aadhaar card with an address in Srinagar, cash amounting to Rs 50,000, and two mobile phones.

"This man appears to be the second-in-command of the Tehreek-e-Mujahideen and has been involved in jihadist activities. Investigators also found that Munshi is skilled in manufacturing IEDs and handling weapons," the officer said.

The STF has gathered sufficient evidence indicating that Munshi had traveled to Bangladesh multiple times and had maintained contact with senior members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the officer said.

Investigators are also analysing the call records from the two mobile phones seized from Munshi.

"The call records could be crucial in identifying who he was in contact with and in understanding his motives for staying in the area," the officer explained, noting that they suspect Javed may have been trying to recruit people. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)