‘Spy’ case: Family cries foul

NEW DELHI: Two days after 37-year-old Zubair Khan was arrested for spying from Shaheen Bagh in Jamia Nagar, his family is not ready to believe that he is a spy. It claims Zubair has been framed by police.
Talking to TOI, Zubair’s elder brother Tayyab Khan said, “They have alleged that he was working for a Pakistani intelligence agency and used to pass on Army documents.He is a very simple person with very few contacts. Who will give him army documents?”.
Tayyab accused Delhi Police of not informing the family about the arrest on Wednesday. “My brother is innocent. They have falsely implicated him and not allowed us to speak to him even once,” said Tayyab.
Delhi Police, however, maintained its stand that Zubair has been arrested because he was working for Pakistani intelligence officials and was tasked to gather information on Air India pilots, since there are fresh talks between the two countries on starting flights to Pakistan.
Delhi Police had alleged that Zubair was supposed to gather information about journalists who write about and frequently travel to Pakistan, families that regularly travel there, government officials in bilateral roles, and relatives of officials working with the Indian High Commission in Pakistan. He was also gathering information about army bases, said sources. Police had claimed that they recovered maps of several cantonment boards and details of various army battalions from Zubair on Wednesday.
Tayyab said Zubair works with a property dealer, whose shop ‘Real Investor’ is in Shaheen Bagh area and has no connection with any spy agency. He is married and has children.
Following the arrest, people in Shaheen Bagh protested on Thursday, blocking the Sarita Vihar-Kalindi Kunj road and demonstrating at the police station. Hamid Ali, a local, said, “This is an attack on the residents of Shaheen Bagh area. How can crime branch officials come here without intimating the local police and pick any youth?”
Tayyab is now planning to approach the concerned court, the local Member of Parliament and even the home ministry for their intervention in the case.