The West Bengal Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two individuals from Purba Bardhaman district on suspicion of having links with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The arrests, made late Saturday night, followed a search operation across two locations in Bardhaman.

The accused have been identified as Mukesh Rajak, a resident of Canal Road, Panagarh, and Rakesh Kumar Gupta, a resident of Bhabanipur, Kolkata. They were produced before a Kolkata court on Monday and have been remanded to STF custody for seven days.

According to STF sources, the two individuals were reportedly associated with an NGO and were allegedly passing on information to Pakistan's ISI. Investigators believe the espionage operation involved the sharing of mobile SIM card One-Time Passwords (OTPs) in exchange for money, facilitating the clandestine transfer of information. Both individuals reportedly lived in rented houses in different parts of Bardhaman.

The arrests came after the State Police STF received a tip-off from a secret source. Rajak was apprehended from a nursing home where he was undergoing treatment, while Gupta was arrested from a rented house in Memari. Officials are now trying to uncover more information through interrogations.