Two suspected Pakistani nationals were arrested by the West Bengal Police’s Special Task Force (STF) near the Bangladesh border in North 24 Parganas district on Wednesday and charged with espionage, lawyers for the state said.
“The two men, identified as Rana Rauf Khalid alias Wahab Alam and Md Aziz, were arrested by the STF near the Benapole border when they were trying to enter Bangladesh with the intention of going to Nepal, where they have lived intermittently since 2012. The Barasat court remanded them in police custody until August 26 on Wednesday afternoon,” one of the state’s lawyers said, requesting anonymity.
Also Read:Bengal STF arrests college student over links with Jaish operative Hamim Mondal
“Indian documents such as Aadhaar and voter identity cards bearing the name Wahab Alam were seized from Khalid. He told the STF during interrogation that Md Aziz, who lives in Kolkata’s Topsia area, helped him procure the documents,” the lawyer added.
Lawyers representing the STF told the Barasat court that Khalid entered India through Nepal in 2012 and was tracking the movements of some Army and railway officials since then. Both suspects deleted some data from their mobile phones before they were apprehended, the lawyers added.
{{/usCountry}}Lawyers representing the STF told the Barasat court that Khalid entered India through Nepal in 2012 and was tracking the movements of some Army and railway officials since then. Both suspects deleted some data from their mobile phones before they were apprehended, the lawyers added.
{{/usCountry}}Residents of Topsia, where Aziz lived most of the time, told the media that he went to Nepal several times with Rana Rauf Khalid and also married a local woman there.