A day after the Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police announced the arrest of a Pakistan-trained IED expert and a member of banned terror outfit Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM), the investigators are trying to find out the waterway route, allegedly used by the Kashmir-based militant to enter and leave Bangladesh from India.

Javed Munshi, 58, was arrested from Canning in South 24 Parganas, bordering Bangladesh, in a joint operation of West Bengal and Jammu & Kashmir police.

The STF said that Munshi was planning to cross over to Bangladesh under the direction of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operatives.

According to sources in the STF, this was not the first time that Munshi used a boat from Canning to enter Bangladesh. “This time too, this was his plan. He was planning to use the river route to travel to Bangladesh and eventually escape to Pakistan. Therefore, the main focus of the investigation is the waterway route used by him. How many times did he use the route, whether he was recruiting people from West Bengal, whether he was in charge of any sleeper cell in West Bengal? These are the questions, the answers of which we are looking for,” said a senior STF officer.

During the arrest, the STF had seized two mobile phones, handwritten notes, an Aadhaar card with an address in Srinagar, and cash amounting to Rs 50,000. “We are trying to decode the notes as there are several numbers written on them… The call records could be crucial in identifying who he was in contact with and in understanding his motives for staying in the area,” said another STF officer, adding Munshi had moved to Canning just a few days before he was arrested.

Sources in the STF said that they would also investigate all those Munshi met in West Bengal. The police are also investigating social media accounts to see if any groups were created or materials exchanged over social media.

Munshi has a criminal history, including alleged involvement in the 2011 murder of Shauqat Shah, a leader of the Ahl-i-Hadith, and has served multiple jail terms on terrorism-related charges, the STF said.

During interrogation, Munshi confessed to multiple visits to Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan on fake Pakistani passports, as instructed by his handlers, the STF said.

Munshi was handed over to the J&K Police on transit remand for further investigation.

According to the STF, Munshi was staying at his relative’s house in Canning.

“Javed Munshi is the husband of my sister-in-law. He was arrested soon after he came to our house,” said a woman at Gulshan House from where Mushi was arrested.

“I don’t know what he does. The police also asked the same question. We informed that Javed is our relative,” she added.

Last Thursday, the STF of Assam and West Bengal Police arrested two suspected militants — Abbas Sheikh and Minarul Sheikh — from Murshidabad’s Hariharpara area.

The West Bengal Police said that militant outfit, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), was on recruitment drive in West Bengal.— With PTI Inputs