Kolkata: The West Bengal Police on Wednesday informed that the Special Task Force (STF) of the state police has arrested the third local associate of the Pakistani national, Wahab Alam, having links with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), who was arrested earlier this month from Habra in North 24 Parganas district.

The person arrested by the STF sleuths has been identified as Zafar Sams alias Sunny. An original resident of Topsia in East Kolkata, Sunny had been absconding since the arrest of Alam.

Finally, he was arrested in Rishra in Hooghly district. However, the state police have not disclosed the time of his arrest and other relevant details.

The STF officials are currently interrogating Sunny to get details of his involvement in Alam’s activities. “We doubt Sunny played a role in strengthening the sleeper cell or network that Alam was forming to smuggle secret information from India to ISI,” said a state police officer.

Two days ago, Imran Hosain, a second associate of Alam, was arrested by STF sleuths from his residence in Topsia.

Before that, the state STF sleuths arrested Mohammad Izaz, Alam’s closest associate, also from his residence in the same locality of Topsia.

It is alleged that Alam, after illegally entering West Bengal via Nepal in 2012, used to stay at Izaz’s residence and the latter was instrumental in arranging Indian identity documents for the Pakistani national.

The STF sleuths got information about Sunny after integrating Alam, Izaz and Imran, first separately and then together.

Earlier on August 14 night, the STF sleuths arrested three other suspected Pakistani spies, all three being Indian citizens, from the Sahebganj area of the India-Bangladesh border district of Cooch Behar.

The names of the arrested are Rashidul Haque, Nur Nasiruddin Ali and Shafiqul Islam.

Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started collecting information about Wahab Alam. The move came after the preliminary investigation by the STF revealed Alam’s alleged links with Pakistan’s spy agency, ISI. The NIA has contacted the Bengal STF to obtain details of the investigation and the information gathered so far.

The NIA will interrogate Alam and Izaz, and if necessary, Hosaain and the other three arrested from Cooch Behar.

Satna : Two youths have been arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl in Satna district of Madhya Pradesh after taking her to a secluded area on the pretext of giving her a motorcycle ride, police said on Wednesday.

The incident was reported from the Nai Basti area under the Kolgawan police station limits. The police action followed a complaint lodged by the minor along with her family members.

According to the police, the minor had come in contact with one of the accused, Sanju alias Anshul Sahu (24), through Instagram on July 14. The two subsequently remained in contact through social media and phone calls.

Sahu, a native of Khamhariya in Rewa district, is currently residing in the Hanuman Dhara-Nai Basti area of Satna, police said. On August 17, Sahu allegedly reached the minor’s house along with his friend Sachin alias Vivek Rawat (19). Rawat is a native of Gangev in Rewa district and currently resides in the Hanuman Nagar-Nai Basti area.

The two allegedly took the minor on a motorcycle to Nai Basti, telling her that they were taking her for a ride. Police said Sahu allegedly sexually assaulted the minor at the location.

When she resisted, he allegedly intimidated and threatened her. The accused later dropped the girl back at her home.

“After returning home, the minor narrated the incident to her family members and approached the Kolgawan police station on Tuesday.

Based on her statement, a case was registered and both accused were arrested,” police said.

The police registered a case under Sections 74, 75(1), 64(2)(m), 65(i), 127(2), 351(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The investigation into the case is underway, and police are examining the circumstances surrounding the incident and the communication between the accused and the minor before the alleged offence.

Mumbai, Aug 18: In a major push to boost transportation across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and ease severe traffic congestion in Pune, the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Tuesday approved two major infrastructure projects: Metro Line 13 (Mira Bhayander to Vasai‑Virar) and the eastern extension of the Pune Ring Road (Sortapwadi to Varve‑Shivare).

Passing through Thane and Palghar districts, Metro Line 13 (Mira Bhayander to Vasai‑Virar) will be executed by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) at an estimated total cost of Rs 17,724.99 crore. The line is 25.03 km long, comprising 21.78 km of elevated tracks and 3.25 km of underground tracks. Out of 16 proposed stations, 13 will be elevated and three underground.

The project includes a 4.92 km integrated double‑decker structure over Vasai Creek connecting Panju Island, featuring a six‑lane (3+3) road alongside the metro line. A metro depot is proposed at Chikhal Dongri. The line will connect key areas including Mira Road, Vasai, Nalasopara, Naigaon, and Virar.

The metro line will seamlessly integrate with the Naigaon, Nalasopara, and Virar suburban railway stations, while offering an interchange with Metro Line 9 at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Stadium. Feeder bus services are planned at all stations. The project requires 24.84 hectares of land acquisition and is scheduled for completion within five years from approval.

CM Fadnavis instructed officials to complete land acquisition and access road construction within the next six months. Daily ridership on Metro Line 13 is projected to reach approximately 4.49 lakh passengers by 2031.

The project is expected to cut travel time by 50 pc compared to road transport, reduce private vehicle usage and highway congestion, lower carbon emissions, and strengthen connectivity between industrial, logistics, and suburban centres.

Further, to mitigate traffic congestion in Pune, the government granted administrative approval for the revised cost proposal of Rs 10,502.36 crore for the eastern extension of the Pune Ring Road. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) will implement the project.

A 31.805 km access‑controlled expressway will stretch from Sortapwadi (Valti) on the Pune‑Solapur Road to Varve Budruk (Shivare) on the Pune‑Satara Road. The project aims to divert interstate and intrastate transit traffic away from Pune city limits to ease urban bottlenecks.

Once integrated, the entire 168.981 km Ring Road network will form a continuous access‑controlled bypass. Land acquisition is 80 pc complete, with project completion targeted for June 2029. The expressway will feature six lanes (three on each side) with a design speed limit of 120 km/h.

Key structural features include one interchange, three major bridges, five minor bridges, 18 elevated structures or flyovers, and four tunnels, along with roadside afforestation and landscaping at interchanges, said the government release.