Kolkata: Bengal Police’s Special Task Force has filed its first charge sheet in Barasat court against Pakistani national Rana Rauf and three local associates, alleging a cross-border espionage network operating on instructions from Pakistani intelligence handlers in Nepal.
Investigators said he was preparing to flee to Bangladesh via Petrapole when the STF arrested him from Habra in North 24 Parganas last Aug.
Police said Rana tried to erase his digital footprint by destroying electronic evidence, including data on his phones. Three local associates, a Topsia resident and two others, were arrested subsequently. On his handlers’ instructions, he got his name on the state’s electoral rolls, but skipped the Election Commission’s summons to appear at the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing. No usable data was recovered at the time of arrest; the seized devices have been sent to forensic laboratories. All four remain in judicial custody.
Court sources said all four have been booked under provisions related to anti-national activities, criminal conspiracy and forgery. The charge sheet says further investigation is needed into the Pakistani High Commission official in Nepal who allegedly facilitated Rana’s entry, and into a senior agent linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).