A Pakistani national who was arrested in West Bengal on Tuesday along with an associate had a map as well as a picture of Kolkata's Fort William, the Indian Army's Eastern Command headquarters with them, a senior official said, as per a PTI report.
The two arrested are Rana Rauf Khalid alias Wahab Alam and Mohammad Ijaz, his alleged associate.
Khalid is a resident of Pakistan's Faisalabad, and had entered India illegally via Nepal, where he was staying since 2012, India Today reported citing sources.
The report also said that Khalid had obtained fake Indian documents and his papers carried a fictitious address of Kolkata's Topsia area.
They were arrested by the West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) from North 24 Parganas' Habra late on Tuesday. The duo were "trying to reach the Bangladesh border" through Jessore Road, as per the report,
The STF is trying to find out the source of the material on Fort William and its intended use.
"One of the important aspects being examined is how the map and photographs of Fort William came into the possession of the accused, and whether these were part of any information-gathering activity," the STF official told PTI.
The STF is also looking into Khalid's digital trail. Social media chats as well as phone numbers linked to Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka were recovered from the duo, the agency said. Some of the chats and phone numbers were deleted.
"The deleted chats and numbers are being examined carefully. We are trying to establish the contacts, the nature of communication and whether any information was shared through these channels," the official told PTI.
The probe is also focussed on whether information related to Army installations were being transmitted beyond borders and if the duo are part of a bigger network.
Investigators suspect Khalid has links with the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) - Pakistan's foreign intelligence service. His activities as well as movements in India are being probed.
Whether information regarding army movements and infrastructure near the border areas of Petrapole and Ghojadanga were collected is also being examined.
Another angle the task force is looking into is whether a large operation was being planned ahead of the Independence Day celebrations on 15 August.
"Military intelligence agencies have been contacted in connection with the investigation," the official told PTI.
Khalid was taken to a hospital in Habra for a medical examination following his arrest.
Both the accused were produced before the Barasat court, which remanded them to 14-day judicial custody.
