Pak spy racket: Net widens; visa agent arrested

Shoaib's questioning is likely to reveal information about other spies in the racket.  Akhtar paid the two men between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 per document.   

Police have arrested a Jodhpur-based passport and visa agent allegedly involved in the espionage ring run by a Pakistani High Commission official.

After getting a tip-off, police had on Wednesday nabbed Pakistan High Commission official Mehmood Akhtar along with two Indians identified as Maulana Ramzan (50) and  Subhash Jangir (37) at Delhi Zoo while the visa agent Shoaib had managed to escape.

Shoaib was detained near Jodhpur last evening, and after being brought here, he was arrested, a senior police officer said today.

While Akhtar was yesterday declared persona non grata, Subhash and Maulana had been arrested on charges of sharing of sensitive information and defence documents and deployment details of BSF along the Indo-Pak border. They were sent to 12-day police custody.

It was found that Shoaib was responsible for recruiting Subhash and Maulana in the module.

Shoaib had come in contact with Maulana around one-and-a-half years back and lured him into activities of collecting vital information about the installations of the Army and paramilitary forces in Gujarat and Rajasthan, the officer said.

"We had sent a request to Jodhpur Police about detaining Shoaib and yesterday evening he was detained," said the officer.

Shoaib's questioning is likely to reveal information about other spies in the racket. 

Mehmood Akhtar, who worked in the visa section of the High Commission in New Delhi and had diplomatic immunity, was procuring critical details including those about the deployment of BSF personnel along the Indo-Pak border from two other accomplices who were arrested in Delhi, police said.

Described as the kingpin of the spy ring, 35-year-old Akhtar belonged to the Baloch regiment of Pakistani Army and was on deputation to spy agency ISI since 2013, investigators said, adding they are also probing possible involvement of more people from the Pakistani mission.

Akhtar and two others - identified as Subhash Jangir and Maulana Ramzan - were picked up from Delhi Zoo yesterday at around 10 AM. Akhtar was released after around three hours of interrogation as he enjoys diplomatic immunity. Akhtar paid the two men between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 per document. 

India asked Akhtar to leave the country within 48 hours.