Hooghly, 19 August (H.S.): The West Bengal Police Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a third local associate of Pakistani national Wahab Alam, who is allegedly linked to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The arrested accused has been identified as Zafar Shams alias Sunny. Alam was arrested earlier this month from Habra in North 24 Parganas district.

According to police, Sunny, a resident of Topsia in eastern Kolkata, had been absconding since Alam’s arrest. The STF arrested him from Rishra in Hooghly district. Police have not yet disclosed the exact time of the arrest or other operational details.

STF officials are questioning Sunny to determine the nature of his involvement in Alam’s activities. According to a police officer, investigators suspect that Sunny may have played a role in strengthening a clandestine network allegedly being developed by Alam to transmit sensitive information from India to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI.

Two days earlier, the STF arrested Alam’s second associate, Imran Hussain, from his residence in Topsia. Before that, Alam’s close associate Mohammad Ejaz was also arrested from the same area.

The investigation has reportedly revealed that Alam allegedly entered West Bengal illegally through Nepal in 2012. He subsequently stayed at Ejaz’s residence. Ejaz is alleged to have helped the Pakistani national obtain documents linked to an Indian identity.

The STF reportedly gathered information about Sunny during separate interrogations of Alam, Ejaz and Imran, followed by their joint questioning.

In the same case, the STF had also arrested three other suspected Pakistani spies from the Sahebganj area of Cooch Behar district, near the India-Bangladesh border, on the night of August 14. They have been identified as Rashidul Haque, Noor Nasiruddin Ali and Shafiqul Islam. All three are reportedly Indian nationals.

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also started gathering information about Wahab Alam. Following preliminary findings by the STF regarding Alam’s alleged links with the ISI, the NIA has sought details of the investigation and information collected so far from the West Bengal STF.

The NIA is expected to question Alam and Ejaz. If required, Imran Hussain and the three suspects arrested from Cooch Behar may also be questioned as part of the investigation. The probe is continuing.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey