KOLKATA: Two men, stated to be Pakistanis and attached to terrorist outfits, were arrested by the Border Security Force personnel while trying to sneak into West Bengal from Bangladesh late on Monday. While one was suspected to be an activist of the Lashkar-e-Taiba the other was a member of Jaish-e-Mohammad.

The men had received training in militancy in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and preliminary investigations reveal they were also trained as ``fidayeens,'' BSF Inspector-General, Somesh Goyal, told The Hindu here on Tuesday. They were headed for Jammu and Kashmir and suspected to be on a mission. The Union Home Ministry has been informed of the arrests, he added.

The arrests were made when BSF jawans intercepted a boat in which they were crossing the Ichamati river at Hingalganj in South 24 Parganas district. The two, who had gone to Bangladesh from Pakistan by air, were sheltered in Bangladesh for more than a month, according to Mr. Goyal.

In another incident, a man found to be moving about suspiciously in front of the domestic terminal of the Netaji Subash Chandra Bose International Airport, was arrested by personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force on Tuesday.

He did not possess an air ticket and was handed over to the police.

Independence Day was observed across the State amid unprecedented security arrangements. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee unfurled the national flag outside the Secretariat, which was cordoned off by security forces.

Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi paid floral tributes at the Gandhi statue in the city.

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