The arrest of nine suspected Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spies from across the country is just the tip of the iceberg of the Pakistani agents’ web, according to sources in the intelligence agencies.

The central security agencies suspect that the ISI has managed to plant spies across the country and the network is deep-rooted.

It has also managed to establish links in government organisations, including defence establishments.

BSF head constable Abdul Rashid was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in Jammu and Kashmir

The recent arrest of a serving BSF head constable and an army jawan for leaking sensitive information has exposed the ISI’s reach within the defence forces.

However, intelligence agencies managed to break through the network after months of surveillance, by which they could give specific inputs to state police and this eventually led to the arrests.

According to a source, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) launched a major operation against collection of such information and they zeroed in on suspected spies after intercepting calls and web communication.

Search operation

Kafaitullah Khan, a library assistant at a government school, was arrested by the police while he was on his way to Bhopal to attend a religious meeting

“A massive search operation was carried out after which each of the alleged spies was monitored. We intercepted many calls, which established their link with the ISI. After confirming their involvement, the state police were informed, who almost at the same time arrested them,” said a source in an intelligence agency, adding that it was an intelligence operation, which was monitored by a central agency.

Sources claim that the IB had specific inputs from Kafaitullah Khan, who was the first person arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch from New Delhi station, and Pakistani national Mohammand Ejaz, who was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Special Task force from Meerut.

It was only through intensive surveillance that the security agency arrested Khan while he was on his way to Bhopal for a religious gathering. He was accompanied by 50 more people from Rajouri district.

Police claim he was going there to recruit people who could help him gather information.

Similarly, the IB shared the location of Mohammad Ejaz with UP STF as they had tracked his movement in various locations in UP, Bihar and West Bengal.

However, each of the state police branches claims that the arrests were the result of their own surveillance and investigation.

“Our teams were involved in the case for long. Teams had also worked in Jammu and Kashmir, through which we got vital leads. All the other arrests were made after interrogating Kafaitullah Khan,” a senior officer of the Delhi Police Crime Branch said.

On the same line, the STF claims that their surveillance gave Ejaz’s information.

Info leaked

Investigators disclosed that the spies were leaking sensitive documents along with the location and strength of army units. They were passing details on app-based communication like WhatsApp.

Delhi Police claim that an official of the Pakistan High commission was going to help Khan get a visa to travel to Pakistan.

Khan was supposed to take further training there and return to India to increase the ISI’s base.

The concern for intelligence is to identify spies, who are still spread across the country and have gone silent after the breakthrough.

Intelligence agencies said most spy agencies do not rely on the internet for information and prefer having first-hand information. The ISI has been trying for some time to increase its network base in India.

The IB says that in the cases that they have come across so far, the information has been regarding government policy, defence set-up, or statements by politicians.

However some cases are serious, where the ISI has asked for specific details of important places along with pictures and other logistics.

The UP STF had found that Ejaz allegedly sent recordings of the landing of Mirage 2000 on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.

The IB has found that many Indians who travel to Pakistan legally are being lured into becoming spies. Many Indians visit Pakistan in order to meet their relatives or for some other work.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR: Families cry foul over cops’ version

By Naseer Ganai in Srinagar

As the Delhi Police Crime Branch continues to make arrests in Rajouri, there is disbelief among the family members of several accused.

“My brother Mohammad Sabar was arrested from our home. He didn’t escape after police came to our house. He only slipped on the ground and got fractured and it was portrayed that he jumped from the window,” Muhammad Azim said.

Azim, who is a revenue official in the government, told Mail Today by phone from Rajouri that his brother was working in Tehsil office and was posted on the election survey.

“They (Delhi Police) are saying Khifatullah has asked someone on phone to give him Rs 10,000. Do you think my brother, who was government employee and was drawing good salary, would have got into this for Rs 10,000? If someone is guilty he should be arrested but I believe such allegations against our brother are baseless,” Azim said.

“I am proud of my brother and I know he is not involved in any case. Time will prove us right,” he added.

On Saturday a team of Delhi police conducted a raid at a village Attai close to Rajouri town and arrested Mohammad Saber.

The police had alleged that Saber in a bid to evade the arrest jumped from his house and suffered injuries.

Police sources say the accused were taken into custody after their names were revealed by a library assistant Kafaitullah Khan.

However, according to Khan’s family, 44-year-old Kafaitullah was going to Bhopal for an annual religious congregation along with his friends, master Showkat Ahmad and retired engineer Munir Khan, when he and master Showkat was arrested by the Delhi Police on November 25. They alleged that Showkat was later released.

WEST BENGAL: ISI spreads its net, Army jawan nabbed

By Soudhriti Bhabani in Kolkata

A rifleman of the Army, Farid Khan, code-named ‘surgeon’, was arrested in connection with the espionage racket, taking the total number of arrests to five.

Farid was arrested by a special team of Delhi Police’s detective department from Sukna near Siliguri in Darjeeling district of West Bengal.

Police arrested Jahangir, Ashfaque Ansari, and Irshad Ansari from Kolkata

He was attached to the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry and is the first serving Indian Army personnel arrested on charges of being a suspected ISI agent.

“A joint investigation by the Indian Army and police is now underway. Every possible aspect is being looked into to determine what damage has been done by Farid so far in connection with the country’s internal security,” a Ministry of Defence (Eastern Command) spokesperson told Mail Today.

He said Farid was handed over to the Delhi Police team on Sunday and would be taken to the national Capital on a transit remand for further interrogation.

The MoD spokesperson said Farid used the codename ‘surgeon’. He came under the scanner after a CD containing recorded conversations was recovered from his possession. He was booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act.

“Prima facie, we have got some evidence, including disclosures, which were needed for his arrest… right now we won’t be able to comment on the documents and other details we have recovered from his possession. But we are looking into every possible angle like what was his work, assignments to find out the extent of damage he can cause, if he is linked to the ISI espionage racket,” the MoD official said.

PUNJAB: Pakistan honeytraps Indians online

By Manjeet Sehgal in Chandigarh

Once dominated by men, Pakistan’s intelligence agency the ISI is now using women spies to lure Indian men. The female spies use Indian names to connect with Indian men on social media.

In the recent past, two such cases have come to light.

The first case was reported in August 2014, while another one came to the fore in November, where the Fereozepur police arrested two Indians from the cantonment area on charges of conducting reconnaissance of the area.

During interrogation of the accused it came to light that the spies had visited the Indo-Pak checkpost at Hussainwala twice and were in contact with an ISI agent, Jaya Mishra, who had honey-trapped the accused separately.

The accused were identified as Shiv Narayan Chandravanshi, 43, and Arjun Malviya, 35, of Bhopal district in Madhya Pradesh.

“The two accused spies were in regular touch with a woman ISI agent, identified as Jaya Mishra, on the internet,” Ferozepur senior superintendent of police said.

The ISI agent had told the men that she ran a clinic in Lahore and is doing public service by preparing medicine from black scorpions.

The accused, in order to confirm whether the woman existed, invited her to the beating retreat ceremony. After matching the details, they started trusting her. She then asked them to supply black scorpions. Funds worth Rs 12,000 were also transferred to their accounts.

Earlier, the Pathankot police on August 30 had arrested an Indian Air Force (IAF) employee on charges of spying. He was accused of selling strategic information about the air force station to a woman, who is believed to be a Pakistani spy.

Another suspicious woman, Chanda Khan alias Fauzia, was arrested on July 30 ,2015 from a Samjhauta Express coach from Jalandhar and was booked under the Foreigners’ Act.

The 27-year-old woman continues to confuse security agencies with her verison that her Passport, visa and ticket were left with her maternal uncle Rashid Khan (Mamu), who vanished from a railway station.