Pakistan High Commission officials under police radar for espionage links

New Delhi- 2 people were arrested by Delhi Police on charges of spying for the ISI while three suspected agents of the Pakistani intelligence agency were caught in Kolkata, authorities announced on Sunday, blowing the lid off lurking threats to security of India. Kafaitullah Khan, the police said, has a counterpart in Pakistan from whom he used to receive his instructions. He was also directed to apply for Pakistan visa as the ISI operative had directed him to visit Pakistan.

Yadav said Khan, arrested on a tip-off, also meant to attend a public gathering in Bhopal from where he planned to recruit spies. “We are checking what his intention was or whether he had passed on the maps of any other sensitive area to the Pakistani agency or not”, the officer said.

“Once we get some leads with further interrogation of the accused duo arrested so far, we shall have to approach the Union Ministry of External Affairs for their permission to question staff at the High Commission’s office”, he added. “He agreed to share with them secret information of the defence forces in exchange of money”, said the official, adding that Khan soon started cultivating sources in the Indian Army and BSF, and some of them allegedly started passing him secret documents. Crime branch is conducting raids at 6 places in Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. “He was supposed to meet his contact near the high commission and had to hand over the passport and a recommendation letter”.

Both have been arrested and are being interrogated to identify and take out the moles Khan had cultivated.

Rasheed had joined the BSF in 1990 and was posted in Gujarat and Bengal before being transferred to Jammu and Kashmir in 1998.

After busting an espionage ring being run from Jammu and Kashmir for over two years, Delhi Police is now initiating a probe against some unnamed Pakistan High Commission officials who are suspected of having links with the Inter-Services Intelligence(ISI)of Pakistan.

On Thursday, Khan had boarded a train from Jammu and was about to leave for Bhopal. Further interrogation is expected to provide the Crime Branch with more information on the money trail, said the official.

“Rasheed was working at the intelligence unit of BSF head quarters at Jammu where each and every document was secret in nature and he was supplying the documents to his associates”, the police said.

“He was initially passing the information to Khan but later on he developed close relations directly with one of the ISI agents and started communicating with him through the App-based communication systems.” he said.