Army jawan arrested in Darjeeling in Pakistan ISI spy racket case ..... Armyman is 5th to be arrested in ISI-linked spy case

IBN Live, rediff.com, Dec 06, 2015 Continuing the offensive on the Pakistan ISI spy racket, a fifth arrest has been made in connection with the case.

The authorities have arrested a serving Army jawan allegedly involved in the ISI espionage case. The Army personnel arrested in Darjeeling has been identified as Fareed, serving as a jawan in the J&K Light Infantry Regiment.

The arrested army personnel was on arrested by Delhi Police from Siliguri in West Bengal in connection with the alleged ISI-linked espionage racket, taking to five the number of people taken into custody in the case.

The accused, identified as Farid Khan, is an army hawaldar who allegedly shared secret information with suspected intelligence operatives.

"He was arrested from Siliguri on Sunday by the eight-member Crime Branch team which was rushed there," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said.

This is the fifth arrest in connection with the espionage racket allegedly headed by suspected ISI operative Kafaitullah Khan.

Kafaitullah was the first person to be arrested from New Delhi on November 26, while he was heading to Bhopal to attend a religious congregation and allegedly recruit more spies, followed by the arrest of serving BSF personnel Abdul Rasheed, former army hawaldar Munawwar Ahmad Mir and a government school teacher, Sabar, who was taken into custody on Saturday from his rented accommodation at Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Farid used the code-name "Surgeon" and he came under the police scanner after they obtained a CD -- which recorded conversations -- from the possession of Khan. Farid, booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act, was produced before a court and shall be brought to Delhi by Monday on a transit remand," said a Crime Branch official.

Farid had met Sabar during his posting in Rajouri and was later introduced other members of the alleged network, he said.

He had been detained by the army and later handed over to the Crime Branch team, following which he was arrested, he said.

Police have not found any documents from Farid's possession but there is sufficient evidence, including disclosures, needed for his arrest, the official said.

Meanwhile, a 14-member team of the Crime Branch of police, which was rushed to Rajouri, has reached Delhi with Mir and Sabar, who are to be produced before a city court on Monday.

Fareed was allegedly introduced to ISI operative Kafaitullah in 2014 by Mohammad Sabar, another operative who has been arrested. The arrested jawan has been accused of passing on documents related to Army movements.

Acting on a tip off a team of Delhi police raided a house in Aiti village and picked up a man identified as Mohammad Sabar. It was learnt that during the operation, the school teacher tried to flee and sustained injuries.

The Delhi Police had earlier arrested Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Abdul Rasheed and 44-year-old library assistant Kafaitullah Khan and Munawwar Ahmad Mir, a retired Indian Army havildar, for obtaining secret information related to India’s national security and sharing it with ISI.