Pakistani spy racket busted; BSF man, ISI-linked handler arrested

A BSF personnel and a Pakistani intelligence operative have been arrested for obtaining secret information related to India's national security and sharing it with Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), police said on Sunday.

Kafaitullah Khan alias Master Raja (44) and Border Security Force (BSF) head constable Abdul Rasheed were arrested from Jammu on November 26.

Khan is a resident of Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, while Rasheed was posted with the BSF intelligence wing in the same district.

"Khan is a handler of Pakistani intelligence operatives, and Rasheed was one of his chief sources. They were running an espionage racket which was supported by Pakistan's ISI," said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav.

"Both were arrested under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Official Secrets Act."

Yadav said the crime branch team arrested Khan from the Jammu railway station on November 26 when he had boarded a train for Bhopal. "Later, his relative Rasheed was held."

Yadav said the operation was conducted following tip-offs about ongoing anti-national activities sponsored by Pakistan's ISI, which is suspected to have a network of civilian handlers and security personnel in various parts of the country.

"Some secret documents related to national security were also seized from their possession," the official said.

Yadav said Khan has contacts in India's security agencies through which he was procuring secret information detrimental to the security of the country.

Khan disclosed that he was working as library assistant at a higher secondary school in Manjakote in Rajouri district, Yadav said.

"Khan had visited Pakistan in 2013 where he came in contact with an ISI agent and in lieu of monetary benefit, he agreed to provide secret information about the defence forces.

"He later cultivated his sources in the army and the BSF and they started passing on information to Pakistani intelligence operatives. The information was passed through email, WhatsApp and Viber," Yadav said.

Yadav said Khan was given specific tasks by ISI, mainly relating to the deployment of security forces and Indian Air Force operations.