Kolkata, 13 August (H.S.) : Pakistani national Wahab Alam, arrested from Habra in West Bengal, was allegedly planning to flee to Bangladesh and stay there for some time before returning to the state with a new identity and fresh assignments, investigators said.

According to the Special Task Force (STF), Alam was allegedly sent to West Bengal by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to gather sensitive information related to the Army, Navy and Railways in the eastern region of India.

During interrogation, Alam allegedly told investigators that his handlers based in Pakistan had advised him to move to Bangladesh temporarily. The plan was to arrange a safe hideout for him there and subsequently facilitate his return to West Bengal with a new identity and a new assignment.

Investigators have also gathered information about an alleged ISI operative named Pavel, who is believed to be active in Bangladesh. The information emerged during Alam’s interrogation and examination of a netbook recovered from his possession. According to the investigators, Alam was supposed to meet Pavel in Jessore after entering Bangladesh.

Pavel was allegedly tasked with arranging a safe location for Alam in Bangladesh. After spending some time there, Alam was reportedly expected to return to West Bengal and resume his activities under a new identity.

During interrogation, Alam allegedly disclosed that he and his handlers in Pakistan became cautious after his name was removed from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision exercise ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections this year. Following this, he was reportedly advised to leave his base in Topsia, Kolkata, and temporarily relocate to a district in West Bengal bordering Bangladesh.

Acting on the plan, Alam allegedly established a hideout in Habra in North 24 Parganas district. The STF subsequently arrested him from Habra. Based on information obtained during his interrogation, the agency also arrested his local associate, Mohammad Ijaz, from Topsia.

According to the investigation, Alam had been staying as a tenant at Ijaz’s residence in Topsia. Ijaz allegedly helped him obtain forged Indian identity documents, including an Aadhaar card, PAN card and, subsequently, a voter identity card.

The STF has claimed that Alam entered India through the India-Nepal border in 2012. Since then, he had allegedly been moving between different locations in West Bengal while changing his identity and places of residence.

Investigating agencies are now probing his contacts, the network involved in procuring forged documents and his alleged links with operatives based in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh