Man arrested for divulging info on Indian Army to ISI

JAIPUR/JAISALMER: A 36-year-old man from

Jaisalmer

was on Tuesday arrested by Rajasthan police’s intelligence unit, for allegedly sharing confidential information about the Indian Army’s activities with

Inter-Services intelligence

(ISI).


The police suspect that the accused was given time-bound tasks by the ISI to monitor the activities of the Indian Army, especially in the wake of heightened activities alongside the western front, after Pulwama attack. Rajasthan police’s State Special Branch (SSB) arrested Nawab Khan, a resident of Ganga village under Sam police station area, after Joint Interrogation Committee (JIC) comprising sleuths of different security and intelligence agencies claimed to have found incremental evidence against the accused. The accused was picked up for interrogation following an interception by intelligence agencies on Sunday. The officials told TOI that the accused used code words to share the confidential information and video calls to communicate the movements of Army troops with his ISI handlers.

“Khan had visited Pakistan along with his parents last year, on a religious pilgrimage. There he met one of his distant relatives at a hotel where he was introduced to an ISI operative. He was given money in exchange of providing information,” the official said.

Arrested under the Official Secrets (OS) Act, the accused had also attended a training session organized by the ISI. “After spending 22 days in Pakistan, Khan came to Rajasthan where he used his jeep safari business for spying in Jaisalmer and Barmer districts,” an official said, adding that Khan would take tourists for sightseeing through border areas, as a ruse for espionage. The initial interrogation with the accused revealed that he was given espionage tasks which he needed to complete in a time-bound manner.

“Nawab Khan used video calls and code words to communicate with his handlers in Pakistan. We have seized his phone and other electronic devices for further investigation,” an intelligence official informed TOI.