Pak spy held with vital documents

Mangalore Today

NEW DELHI:Nov.16: Just as Indian agencies are trying to decipher the role of a US-based Lashkar duo in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks comes the busting of another Pakistan-sponsored espionage ring The Delhi Police arrested a Pakistani spy just as he was set to board a flight to Saudi Arabia along with a set of vital documents relating to some defence installations including Ghaziabad’s Hindon airbase and Meerut cantonment area.

Acting on a tip-off from Intelligence Bureau, the police arrested him at IGI airport on Saturday when he was trying to board a flight using a fake passport bearing the name of Aamir Ali.

Though spy rings and sleeper cells of Pakistani intelligence agencies are busted regularly in one or the other part of the country, Aamir alias Jabbad alias Abdul is considered to be a prize catch as police seized a number of vital documents from his possession indicating that he was a leader of some bigger ring spread across central and western Uttar Pradesh.

He was considered so significant a catch that the police immediately briefed home ministry about the arrest and the seizures. His arrest was confirmed to reporters by home secretary G K Pillai on Sunday.

Though Pillai did not give any details, sources said Aamir was a highly trained Pakistani spy and was staying in Shahdara since the past three years. "He is quite computer savvy and was extensively using Internet to send information," a source said.

Aamir had allegedly sent information on Ghaziabad’s Hindon airbase and Meerut cantonment area to Pakistan through emails. The 40-year-old spy, said to be a resident of Karachi, had earlier spent a few years in Lucknow and Ghaziabad.

Besides scanning his contacts in the Capital, Delhi Police has sent separate teams to different cities in UP to trace his links with local residents who might have helped him.