Kolkata, Aug 12: Wahab Alam, the Pakistani national arrested in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, was sent by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to collect information about the Indian Army, Navy and Railways in the eastern sector of the country.

Alam was arrested in the Habra area of the district.

Insiders from the state police said that during the marathon interrogation by the sleuths of the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police, he had admitted that he entered India through the India-Nepal border in 2012 and has since been staying in different pockets of the state, shifting bases from time to time.

After his arrest, the STF sleuths also seized forged Indian identity documents from his possession, like an Aadhaar card, PAN card and EPIC card. It is learnt that he managed these forged identity documents through another person, Muhammad Izaz, who was also arrested by the STF in the Topsia area in East Kolkata following Alam’s interrogation.

In fact, state police insiders said that before shifting to Habra, from where he had been arrested, Alam used to stay at Izaz’s residence in Topsia. However, as per information collected by the STF sleuths, he left the Topsia area immediately after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise started in West Bengal earlier this year before the recently concluded Assembly polls.

STF sleuths found that Alam was probably planning to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, and hence decided to shift to Habra, which is fairly close to the India-Bangladesh border. The STF sleuths are currently interrogating Alam and Izaz to know about their other associates in the state.

Interrogation is also ongoing to find out the kind of information that Alam has already passed on to his handlers in Pakistan.

Reacting to media persons on the arrest of the Pakistani national, the state Municipal Affairs and Urban Development Minister, Agnimitra Paul, said that such elements could make their roots deeper in West Bengal because of the “nurturing by the previous Trinamool Congress regime”.

“My appeal to people is to be alert. If any suspicious persons or any suspicious activity is detected in your locality, kindly contact the local police station immediately,” she said.

New Delhi, Aug 12: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urging him to consult with the Opposition parties for a discussion on the NEET students’ protest, stating that in a democratic nation, “solutions emerge only through discussion and dialogue”.

He also reaffirmed his commitment to remain present in the Lok Sabha when the debate is scheduled and is willing to answer every question raised by the Opposition.

In his letter, HM Shah said: “You are aware that the Hon’ble Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju, has agreed on behalf of the Government, during the Business Advisory Committee meeting, to a discussion in Parliament regarding the student protests concerning the NEET examination.”

He mentioned that even before the Opposition’s request, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, was discussed in the Parliament; however, “no Hon’ble Member of Parliament from the Opposition expressed any views regarding the NEET examination in the House at that time”.

Nevertheless, he said that the Centre is ready to discuss this issue again.

“I request you to consult with the Opposition and, based on mutual agreement, allocate as much time, whether in terms of days or hours, as you deem appropriate, starting today. I intend to remain present in the House during the scheduled time to participate in the discussion on this matter and am prepared to answer all questions raised by the Opposition,” the Home Minister said.

“In a democracy, solutions emerge only through discussion and dialogue. I have unwavering faith in democracy and democratic institutions, and I believe that this House exists precisely for the purpose of discussion and dialogue,” he added.

“Therefore, I urge you to consult with Opposition leaders and facilitate a discussion on this important subject in a constructive atmosphere, so that all Hon’ble Members, from both the Treasury and Opposition benches, may present their valuable opinions and views,” HM Shah added.

This comes against the backdrop of the Opposition’s questions over the Home Minister’s “absence” from the House. The Opposition has sought a statement on the police action against students who participated in the protest march. The standoff has led to repeated disruptions.

Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters on the Parliament premises, Home Minister Shah hit back at the Opposition over allegations that he was avoiding the Parliament and said that he had been regularly attending the ongoing Monsoon Session.

HM Shah said that Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rijiju had already made it clear that the government was prepared to hold a detailed discussion on the protests by students. He said the government had accepted the Opposition’s original demand for a discussion and maintained that he himself had made it clear that he was prepared to answer questions on the matter in the Parliament.

New Delhi, Aug 12: Samajwadi Party chief and MP, Akhilesh Yadav, on Wednesday alleged that the proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) were aimed at targeting minorities and accused the NDA government of introducing the legislation to serve its own interests.

Speaking to reporters, Yadav questioned the need for the amendment to the Bill and criticised the government’s performance on infrastructure projects.

“Why do they want to bring the FCRA amendments? Is it only to suppress minorities? Is it only to serve their own interests? You are building airports, yet they get flooded with water. You are constructing expressways, yet there are potholes. What are you doing?” he said.

Drawing a comparison between governance and the recent aviation controversy, Yadav added, “Hume plane chalane walon aur pradesh chalane walon mein samanta dikhai de rahi hai.”

Samajwadi Party MP, Awadhesh Prasad, also raised concerns over the proposed legislation, saying that laws should not be enacted without clear intent and practical implementation.

“If the government’s intention is not right, then there is no point in passing such a Bill. There are many laws that have been passed but are not being implemented properly and remain ineffective in practice,” he said.

Another Samajwadi Party leader, MP Ram Gopal Yadav, argued that there was no need for the proposed amendments. He said voluntary organisations, religious organisations especially missionaries and NGOs have played a significant role in providing education, health and welfare services in several parts of the country, including tribal regions.

“There was no need to bring this Bill in the first place. In states such as Jharkhand, in the Dang region of Gujarat and in other tribal areas, the work done by missionaries, voluntary organisations and NGOs has often been greater than what governments have achieved. Restricting them would deprive millions of poor children of education and other essential services,” he said.

CPI MP, P. Santhosh Kumar, said the Opposition had demanded that the Bill be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

“There is no necessity for these amendments. However, referring the Bill to a JPC was one of the major demands raised by Opposition parties. Since the BJP will have a majority in the committee, we do not expect any positive outcome,” he said.

RSP MP, N.K. Premachandran, reiterated his party’s demand for the withdrawal of the Bill.

“Our consistent stand has been that the FCRA Bill should be withdrawn. The government is now proposing to send it to a Joint Parliamentary Committee, but the purpose of the Bill appears to be to exercise greater control over charitable organisations, NGOs and institutions run by minority communities,” he said.