Hyderabad: Hyderabad High Court has confirmed the life sentence awarded by Nizamabad Trial Court in 2005 to Pakistani spy Ashique Ali alias Shahneel for transferring strategic defence information of India to Pakistani Army.
On January 26, 2002, Nizamabad police arrested Ashique Ali, a Pakistani National from near Jannapally Junction in the town at night based on reliable information that he was transferring strategic defence information to Pakistani Army through e-mails and phone calls.
The investigation revealed that Ashique Ali conspired with Major Chaudry Zahid Ahmed, Hawaldar Mahemood and Hawaldar Tahir, all Pakistan nationals, with an intention to collect sensitive and strategic defence information related to Indian Armed Forces and in pursuance of the said conspiracy, they had sent Ashique Ali to India on June 15, 2001, under the guise of a tourist for 30 to 60 days, to visit Delhi and Kanpur only.
The police charged that as part of the conspiracy, the accused collected information and passed it to Pakistan for waging war against the Government of India.
The investigation further revealed that though Ashique Ali entered the country to visit Delhi and Kanpur only, he visited several places in Punjab, Hyderabad, Nizamabad, Bombay and Nagpur in Maharashtra State and collected information with regard to location of EME Centres of Secunderabad Cantonment Area, Artillery Centres at Golconda, Hyderabad, Army and Air-Force Training Centres in Hyderabad and communicated about this to his masters in Pakistan.
The police booked him under Section 121 and Section 121-A of the IPC and Section 14 of the Foreigners’ Act and also under Officials Secrets’ Act.
During the trial, the accused confessed that he communicated in cryptic language using ‘uncle’ as code for 54 division; ‘sons’ as units; ‘house nos.’ as number of units; ‘name of colony's place’ as code for location of the units.
The police had earlier produced an Army officer as a witness in the case and the officer deposed before the trial court that the accused had met him during his journey to Jabalpur in a train and introduced himself as a tourist and resident of Delhi.
