The Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal Police has arrested a suspected Pakistani ISI operative, identified as Rana Rauf, near the Bangaon border. According to STF sources, Rauf is a resident of Faisalabad, Pakistan, who lived in Nepal for an extended period before illegally entering India in 2012. He subsequently settled in West Bengal and obtained forged Indian identification documents, including an Aadhaar card under the alias Wahab Alam with an address in Kolkata's Topsia area.
Preliminary investigations reveal that Rauf operated as an ISI agent tasked with gathering sensitive intelligence related to the Indian Army, Navy, and Indian Railways to transmit to his handlers in Pakistan. The STF had been monitoring his activities for a considerable duration before apprehending him. Authorities are currently investigating whether Rauf and his network were plotting any acts of sabotage in West Bengal ahead of Independence Day, as well as probing possible links with recently arrested Jaish-e-Mohammed member Hamim Mandal.
Based on information extracted during Rauf’s interrogation, the STF conducted a raid in Kolkata's Topsia locality and arrested an associate. Investigators learned that Rauf frequently stayed in Topsia during his visits to the city, where he established contact with the arrested individual. Police are further questioning the suspect to ascertain whether he was directly involved in the espionage network or militant activities.