ISI spying case gets murkier, now two Army jawans from J&K under scanner

New Delhi: Two Jammu and Kashmir-based army jawans, who frequently communicated with arrested ISI operative Kafaitullah Khan, are under the scanner of the Delhi Police in the espionage case and a team is being rushed to the state to carry forward the probe.

Khan and BSF head constable Abdul Rasheed were arrested last week in connection with an espionage racket being run by Pakistan's external spy agency ISI, which used to pay them in return for confidential information.

An official privy to the investigation said Khan's response during his interrogation raised suspicion about the jawans having shared "secret" documents with the ISI operative.

The police have recovered a few maps pertaining to the army from the duo's possession. It is also suspected that one of the jawans is a relative of Khan, he said.

"A team from the inter-state cell of crime branch, led by an inspector rank officer, will be sent to Rajouri tomorrow to investigate the matter," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav, adding that the Army personnel will face arrest if they are found involved in the espionage racket.

Meanwhile, sources said the police are yet to identify the alleged source in the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi of the ISI handler, who was directly in touch with Khan and Rasheed.

Khan had told his interrogators that he was on way to Bhopal to meet someone who would have connected him with the source at the High Commission.

Khan claimed he was told by an ISI man based in Pakistan that the source at the High Commission would help him secure a visa with which he could visit that country for availing more resources.

Investigation has revealed that Rasheed had double-crossed Khan and established direct contact with a Pakistani handler who earlier used to assign tasks to the duo through the latter, who was put on a permanent payroll, receiving around Rs 20,000 per month through official banking channels, said a police source.

The remittances were received from UAE and Saudi Arabia though they were later found to be sourced from Pakistan, he said.
Khan was arrested from the New Delhi Railway station while he was on his way to Bhopal on Thursday. He was taken to his native place Rajouri from where the police arrested Rasheed.

The police recovered several secret documents related to troop positions and movements from their possession. Both accused have been booked under relevant sections of Official Secrets Act.