Pak High Commission officials wanted to extract details of army movements via trains: Report

The motive of the 2 officers of Pakistan High Commission, who have been declared ‘persona non grata’ by India on expenses of espionage, was to extract particulars of motion of Army items by trains by befriending railway staffers, police mentioned on Monday.

The two officers, Abid Hussain and Muhammad Tahir, have been caught by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police from central Delhi’s Karol Bagh whereas they have been acquiring delicate paperwork regarding India’s safety installations from an Indian nationwide in trade of cash, official sources had mentioned on Sunday.

According to the police, throughout investigation, it has emerged that Hussain operated beneath a number of faux identities to lure folks working in organisations and departments of his curiosity. He posed as Gautam, brother of a media individual, to ascertain contact with a person working within the Indian Railways. He tried to realize his confidence by pretending that he wanted details about rail actions for his brother who was supposedly doing a narrative on the Indian Railways and for which he was keen to pay, mentioned Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police).

However, police mentioned the true motive was to lure and entice the railway employees after which purchase details about motion of Army items and {hardware} by way of trains.

In a press release launched on Sunday, the Ministry of External Affairs had mentioned, “The government has declared both these officials persona non grata for indulging in activities incompatible with their status as members of a diplomatic mission and asked them to leave the country within 24 four hours.” Sources had mentioned the officers have been working on the visa part of the Pakistan High Commission and confessed throughout the interrogation that they labored for Pakistani spy company ISI.

The sources had additionally mentioned that the 2 officers have been handing over Indian foreign money and an iPhone for offering them the paperwork.

They had initially claimed that they have been Indian nationals and even produced faux Aadhaar playing cards, the sources had mentioned. In 2016, Delhi Police had busted an espionage racket, involving a Pakistan High Commission staffer, Mehmood Akhtar, who was allegedly concerned in getting details about BSF deployments alongside the Indo-Pak border. He was expelled by India for spying.