NEW DELHI: The police arrested on Saturday Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Munavvar Saleem’s personal assistant Farhat Khan for his alleged involvement in a spy racket, two days after its kingpin — a Pakistani official — was expelled from India.
India had expelled Mehmood Akhtar on Thursday for using his consular position at Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Delhi to recruit Indian spies, four of whom have since been held. Akhtar had named Khan — a resident of Uttar Pradesh — as one of his “close associates”.
He was picked up from Mr Saleem’s residence on Friday night and detained. He was arrested on Saturday after prolonged questioning.“During Akhtar’s questioning, Khan’s name surfaced as one of his close associates in the espionage racket he was running.
“He also named some other Pakistan high commission staffers,” said a senior police officer. TV channels also aired a confessional video of Akhtar in which he purportedly named Khan and some others.
In the video, he also said he used to meet Khan at Mandi House Metro station.
A crime branch officer said Khan’s preliminary questioning has led to “certain revelations” that need to be further investigated. Names of several other people allegedly involved in the racket have cropped up.
Delhi Police is also trying to apprehend other members of the espionage ring who, it believes, were in close contact with Akhtar. Maulana Ramzan and Subhash Jangir of Rajasthan were arrested selling critical defence info pertaining to the deployment of the Indian military and paramilitary forces along the Indo-Pak border to Akhtar in Delhi on Thursday.
Another ring member, Shoaib, was arrested Friday after he was brought to New Delhi from Jodhpur. He was in touch with Akhtar. The module had been active for 18 months, and came on police radar six months ago.
