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STF is investigating how the map and photographs of Fort William, the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Army, reached the accused.

Kolkata. A day after West Bengal's Special Task Force (STF) arrested a suspected Pakistani national and his associate, investigators are trying to find out how they got the map and photographs of Fort William, the headquarters of the Indian Army's Eastern Command. A senior official gave this information on Thursday.

Rana Rauf Khalid alias Wahab Alam and his alleged associate Mohammad Ijaz were arrested by the West Bengal STF late Tuesday night from Habra in North 24 Parganas district when they were trying to reach the Bangladesh border via Jessore Road.

The officer said the recovery of material to Fort William has become an important aspect of the investigation and the STF is trying to find out from where they got this material and for what purpose it was to be used. The STF official said, an important aspect of the investigation is how the map and photographs of Fort William reached the accused and whether they were part of some kind of information gathering activity. After his arrest, Rauf was taken to Habra Hospital for medical examination on Tuesday night. Later, both the accused were produced in Barasat court, from where they were sent on 14-day police remand.

Many foreign numbers found in mobile phone

The agency is also investigating the digital activities of the accused. Social media chats and phone numbers allegedly to Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were found in the mobile phone recovered from them. The official said investigators also found indications that some chats and phone numbers had been deleted. The deleted chats and numbers are being carefully examined, he said. We are trying to find out who the accused were in contact with, what kind of conversations took place between them and whether any information was shared.

Suspected accused may have contact with ISI

The official said the alleged deletion of digital material is being considered important in the investigation and it is being ascertained whether the accused were working under a larger network and whether information to Indian military establishments and military activities was being sent out of the country. Investigators suspect that Rauf has links with Pakistan's intelligence agency 'Inter-Services Intelligence' (ISI) and his activities, contacts and movement in India are being investigated. The STF sleuths are also probing the alleged gathering of information to military activities and infrastructure near Petrapole and Ghojadanga border areas, the official said.

Search for the network making fake identity cards

The Special Task Force is also investigating the possibility of some major operation before Independence Day on August 15. However, officials said that the investigation is still in its initial stage and no definite conclusion has been reached. Military intelligence agencies have also been contacted in connection with the investigation, the senior officer said. Officials said that after these arrests, the security of the international border and the network making fake Indian identity documents are also being investigated.

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