Kolkata, Dec 30 (IANS): In a joint operation by the cops of the special task force of the West Bengal Police and the Assam Police, a most-wanted associate of Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), a Bangladesh-based fundamentalist group, was arrested from Murshidabad district of West Bengal.

A senior official of the state police informed that the arrested individual has been identified as Sajidul Islam and he has been arrested in a surprise raid early on Monday morning by a joint team of the West Bengal Police and the Assam Police.

Islam has been arrested from a residence at Naoda in Murshidabad district.

The state police said that Islam is also the cousin brother of another most-wanted ABT activist Shad Radi, also known as Shab Sheikh, who was arrested recently from Kerala.

Radi had two EPIC (Elector's Photo Identity) cards issued in his name from two assembly constituencies in Murshidabad district -- one from Kandi and another from Hariharpara.

The Assam Police had already started the process of taking Islam to the state on transit remand. Bengal Police sources said that Islam gave shelter to Radi, and also helped him get the EPIC card.

There had been inputs from intelligence agencies, central and state, about ABT activists trying to be active in the two districts in West Bengal that have porous international borders with Bangladesh namely Murshidabad and Nadia.

Inputs are also there that they are trying to brainwash youths in the bordering villages and induct them as sleeper cell members.

Recently, the intelligence and security agencies have augmented the security and surveillance measures at the villages adjacent to the international border with Bangladesh, both land and coastal, in the wake of inputs that of late several outsiders have suddenly started residing in these border villages after taking rooms on rent there.

The police have alerted the house owners in such villages to refrain from renting to outsiders without checking their credentials and also inform the local police stations about the individuals that they are letting out rooms.