Kolkata: A Bangladeshi national has been arrested for suspiciously moving around the Bengdubi military station in West Bengal’s Siliguri.
The man who claimed to be a Bangladeshi spy was remanded to police custody by a Siliguri court on Saturday, a day after he was detained by Army personnel near the high-security Bengdubi military station.
“The man was detained and questioned by Army personnel on Friday for suspiciously moving around the high-security zone. He was handed over to the Bagdogra police station after he admitted being a spy from Bangladesh,” a police official said.
“During interrogation, he said he is Ashraful Alam, a deputy superintendent of police in the Bangladesh secret service. He said he entered Bengal by crossing the Mahananda river. An investigation is on,” the officer said.
“The man’s long salt and pepper beard and unkempt hair, his dirty shirt and trousers et al gave him the appearance of an urchin. He carried no document. Only a two-rupee coin was found in his pocket,” the officer added.
The man, a resident of Rangpur district of Bangladesh, confessed to having crossed over to India several months back.
As he could not produce any valid documents, the person was put under arrest.
The security at the military station was tightened further in view of the ongoing conflict with Pakistan.
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Police started sanitising the outer perimeter of the military station on Saturday using metal detectors and sniffer dogs.
The Bengdubi military station, located in the Naxalbari block of the Siliguri subdivision, is a sprawling and strategically important Army base. It houses a hospital and an Army Public School.
