Espionage and extremist activity investigations in West Beng

The West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) has conducted investigations into alleged espionage and extremist activities within the state.

Initial developments involved the arrest of Wahab Alam, also known as Rana Rauf, in the Habra area of North 24 Parganas. Authorities allege Alam was an agent for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) tasked with collecting intelligence on the Indian Army, Navy, and Railways. Investigators found that Alam had entered India via the Nepal border in 2012 and possessed forged Indian identity documents, including Aadhaar and PAN cards. An associate, Mohammad Izaz, was also arrested in Kolkata for allegedly assisting with these fraudulent documents.

Subsequent operations expanded to include the arrest of an individual named Imran in Kolkata, who is suspected of being an associate of Rauf and assisting him in obtaining an Indian passport through forged documents. Additionally, in South 24 Parganas, the STF arrested Janadul Baig and Shafiq Sheikh for allegedly attempting to establish a jihadi module inspired by Al Qaeda ideology. These suspects reportedly used social media to spread anti-government propaganda and were believed to be attempting to procure weapons.