Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 6: Delhi Police today arrested a serving Army Havaldar in connection with espionage racket in which four arrests have already been made from border district of Rajouri including a BSF official, two Government employees and an ex-serviceman.
The arrest of serving Army jawan Farid Khan, a Havaldar from Siliguri, West Bengal, was the first arrest made from outside Rajouri district in the racket headed by Kafaitullah Khan, a Lab Assistant, hailing from Rajouri district, who was the first to be arrest in the case followed by BSF Head Constable Abdul Rasheed, an ex-serviceman of Army Munawar Hussain Mir and Mohammad Sabar, a Government teacher.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Farid Khan had shared secret information with suspected intelligence operatives.
“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 tomorrow on a transit remand,” sources said.
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.
Police have not found any document from Farid’s possession but there is sufficient evidence, including disclosures, needed for his arrest, sources said.
Meanwhile, Munawar Mir, an ex-serviceman and Moh-ammad Sabar, a Government teacher, who were arrested by Delhi Police during past three days in Rajouri, have been taken to New Delhi, where they were being cross examined with two already arrested spies-Kafaitullah Khan and Abdul Rasheed.
The team was investigating if some other Army personnel were also involved in the case.
Sabar was arrested yesterday amid high drama as he tried to dodge the police team which reached the village accompanied by police in Rajouri. Some people there tried to resist the police action.
“It is suspected that Sabar was informed about the raid by someone in advance as the police team found the door of his residence locked from outside. Suddenly, Sabar emerged from the roof and jumped in the backyard,” sources said.
Sabar injured his foot and collapsed, he said. Soon some people gathered and tried to obstruct the police team, he said, adding, Sabar was later taken to a hospital.
Sabar is believed to have received crucial information about troop movements along the border in case of a war or a war-like situation between India and Pakistan from Farid.
Mir, Sabar and Farid will be confronted during the interrogation and cross-examined on the basis of details emerging, the official said. Through their interrogation, the police will also try to find out the alleged ISI source employed at the office of the Pakistan High Commission here.
The source was to help Kafaitullah get a visa for travelling to Pakistan, where he was to meet his spy counterparts and avail more resources and training in connection with the espionage racket, said the police.
Kafaitullah, who is an alleged Pakistan Intelligence Operative (PIO) heading the espionage racket here backed by the ISI, was intercepted in Delhi on November 26, the police said. The police took him to Rajouri on transit remand from where they arrested Abdul Rasheed, they said.
The police claimed to have recovered secret and confidential documents from the possession of both, on the basis of which they invoked provisions under the Official Secrets Act.
Rasheed was then brought to Delhi and further interrogation revealed the names of more suspects — three in Rajouri district, of whom two have been arrested, and one in Siliguri.
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