Armyman held for ISI links in West Bengal

Kolkata: Another suspected ISI agent was arrested in West Bengal on Sunday for espionage activities. The accused is a serving Army jawan who was posted at the Sukna military camp in Darjeeling, the headquarters of 33rd Corps under the Eastern Command.

Farid Ahmed Khan, alias Surgeon, is a rifleman of the Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI) regiment, which has a unit at the camp and was attached to the military intelligence wing, according to sources.

He was detained by the Army’s Intelligence Corps around three days ago following a specific tip-off from the Delhi police, which recently arrested ISI operative Kaifaitullah Khan for espionage activities from Jammu and Kashmir.

During interrogations by the Delhi police’s crime branch and Central intelligence agencies, Kaifaitullah revealed of Khan’s activities for the ISI since he was posted at the JAKLI earlier, according to sources.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Khan was introduced to Kaifaitullah in 2014 by a schoolteacher, Sabar, who was recently arrested by the police. Khan was then posted in Rajouri, sources disclosed.

Acting on the alert from the crime branch an Intelligence Corps team brought Khan under their scanner and started grilling him under detention. On Saturday night, the accused confessed of his role following which the Army informed the crime branch, sources elaborated.

On Sunday, morning the accused was handed over to a crime branch team of the Delhi police. Khan will be produced at a Delhi Court where the crime branch will seek his custody for further interrogation. Sources indicated that a departmental proceeding has already been initiated by the Army against him and he may strong action.

Asked about the rifleman’s arrest chief public relations officer of the Eastern Command Wing Commander S.S. Birdi told this newspaper in the evening, “The Army and police in a joint investigation are now probing whether the accused was involved in ISI activities or not. If he was involved, how much information he has leaked out is also being looked into.” The Army jawan’s arrest from the state came in wake of the arrest of around six suspected ISI agents by the Kolkata police’s special task force for allegedly supplying defence related information to the Pakistani spy agency.