 "UP ATS commandos | File Photo | ANI")
The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Thursday (May 22) arrested a Varanasi resident for allegedly spying for Pakistan.
45-year-old Tufail Alam was allegedly in contact with a Pakistan-based network of spies and was reportedly involved in sharing sensitive material to Pakistanis to hurt India’s sovereignty and internal security.
ATS officials said Alam joined several groups operated by Pakistani agents, and he was in touch with Pakistani nationals linked to the banned terror outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik.
Alam used to share photos and videos of sensitive locations on the groups, featuring Raj Ghat, Namo Ghat, Gyanvapi, railway stations, Jama Masjid, Red Fort and Nizamuddin Dargah.
He would also share provocative material on groups, including videos of Maulana Saad Rizvi and messages promoting ‘Ghazwa-e-Hind’, revenge for Babri Masjid and the imposition of Sharia law in India.
In total, he was in touch with over 600 Pakistani numbers. He used to contact a woman named Nafisa from Faisalabad, Pakistan, whose husband serves in the Pakistani Army.
“Tufail sent the link of these [WhatsApp] groups run by Pakistan to many other people of Varanasi, and he was in contact with more than 600 Pakistani numbers. He was in contact with a woman named Nafeesa, a resident of Faisalabad, Pakistan, through Facebook, whose husband is in the Pakistani Army,” the ATS statement claimed.
Impact Shorts
View AllThe authorities have now booked Alam under sections 148 and 152 of the BNS.
Delhi resident also booked on similar charges
The UP ATS also arrested a Delhi resident on Thursday on similar charges.
Mohammed Haroon, a resident of Seelampur, Delhi, allegedly maintained contacts with Muzammil Hussain, the Delhi-based Pakistan High Commission staffer whom India on Wednesday declared persona non grata.
Haroon, a scrap dealer, extorted money in connivance with Hussain, promising people Pakistani visas, the ATS said. “He is involved in anti-national activities by sharing security-related information related to national interest with Muzammil Hussain,” it said.
Investigators said that during questioning, Haroon revealed he met Hussain at the Pakistan High Commission because he has relatives in Pakistan. The ATS mentioned that Haroon shared important information about India’s internal security with Muzammil Hussain. Hussain then used that information to try to harm India’s internal security.
Haroon is also accused of giving Muzammil Hussain details about several bank accounts in India. Hussain deposited money he collected by defrauding people seeking Pakistani visas into those accounts.