West Bengal STF arrests Pakistani national, aide over suspected ISI links

Rana Rauf had plans to flee to Bangladesh; he visited India around six times since 2012 and passed on sensitive information regarding Indian Railways and Indian Army

The Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) arrested two people, including a Pakistani national, from North 24 Parganas district’s Bangaon for their alleged links with Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). 

Originally from Pakistan’s Faisalabad, Rana Rauf, had allegedly been visiting West Bengal for the last 14 years using a fake identity. Another resident, Muhammed Izaz, allegedly helped him obtain fake identity documents, including Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, and Passport. 

“Acting on an internal tip-off, an STF team on Wednesday conducted a search operation at Mr. Rauf’s premises in Topsia and later arrested him from Bangaon. During interrogation, he mentioned Mr. Izaz’s role, following which he was also arrested from Topsia,” said STF Inspector General Gaurav Sharma. 

According to STF officials, Mr. Rauf fled Pakistan in 2012 and moved to Kathmandu in Nepal, where he married a woman. Later, he got in touch with some ISI agents and officials of the Pakistan High Commission, who allegedly assigned him intelligence-gathering missions in India. 

“Prima facie, Mr. Rauf had never stayed in India permanently. He used to cross the Nepal border from Bihar’s Raxaul and take a train to West Bengal. Mr. Rauf acquired the identity of Mr. Izaz’s late father, Wahab Alam, while in India. However, his name was removed from the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR),” said the IG. 

After the removal of the name, Mr. Rauf was concerned and was planning to flee to Bangladesh, the officer said. He arrived in Bangaon, a location close to the India-Bangladesh border, to contact some Pakistani agents in Bangladesh, said the officer. 

“Sufficient sensitive data”

The STF also seized several documents and electronic devices from Mr. Rauf. The IG said that he had allegedly been gathering information about the Indian Railways and the Indian Army, adding that “sufficient sensitive data” regarding the two organisations have been found on Rauf’s devices. Mr. Rauf had visited India at least six times over the years for such assignments, said the officer. 

“The STF is now trying to trace Mr. Rauf’s other agents across Bengal, Nepal, and Bangladesh. We are also trying to analyse how he used to pass on the information,” said Mr. Sharma. 

The development comes days after the STF arrested two people—Hamim Mondal, Arpita Sarkar, and Aditya Singh—for their alleged involvement with terrorist outfit Jaish-E-Mohammed (JeM).

The police also said that the three had been gathering information about Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari when he was the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly. They had also allegedly planned to carry out a terror attack during the 36-day protest of the Cockroach Janata Party at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar last month.