Farhat Khan

staffer Mehmood Akhtar

returned to his country

Espionage racket case: SP leader’s PA sent to 10-day police custody

he would commit suicide

Samajwadi MP’s aide arrested, spied for Pakistan for 20 years

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha MP Chaudhary Munawwar Saleem’s personal assistant was arrested on Saturday on charges of stealing Parliament-related documents and selling them to Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI., police said, was part of the espionage ring run by Pakistan high commissionwho has sinceKhan had been leaking information to ISI handlers at the high commission for the past 20 years, joint commissioner (crime) Ravindra Yadav said. He has been remanded in police custody for 10 days. The investigating officer is interrogating him to ascertain other links he may have to ISI and what kind of documents he has leaked till date,” joint commissioner (crime) Ravindra Yadav told TOI.Saleem, who sacked Khan, denied any knowledge of his activities. The MP saidalong with his family if probe agencies found any evidence of his involvement in the espionage ring. Police said Khan had been working with four MPs since 1996, some of whom were members of parliamentary committees.Khan’s main role, they said, was to steal Parliament related documents, committee reports and other information from the MPs and pass them on to ISI. He got anything between Rs 10,000 and Rs 1 lakh, depending on the sensitivity of the documents. Khan was in touch with Akhtar through phone and in person, police said. He also worked with Akhtar’s predecessors, identified as Shamshad and Fayyaz, at the high commission. Any handler who was transferred back to Pakistan on completion of his tenure introduced his successor to Khan.It was Akhtar who first told police of Khan’s involvement in the spying scandal. In his statement, which was video recorded, Akhtar said he met Khan at least once a month at Mandi House metro station, which was close to the MP’s Ferozeshah Road residence. Following the lead, the investigating team gathered evidence — mostly technical — and arrested Khan on Friday night. A team led by DCP (crime) Bhisham Singh searched Khan’s quarters at the MP’s residence and recovered several documents.Akhtar, in his statement, said he was a non-commissioned officer who was merely following the instructions of his seniors in the ISI and the high commission. He went on to name at least four officials at the commission who were part of the espionage racket.Akhtar’s claims of receiving information from an employee of the Indian Space Research Organisation are still being verified, sources at the agency said. “We’ve just received as much information as there is in the media. At this juncture, we will not comment,” Isro chairman AS Kiran Kumar told TOI.