Pathankot perspective: India spies ISI conspiracy with 14 arrests in 2 months

[Zarvan]

TNN
New Delhi: "You might even blame ISI for the weather," a Pakistani diplomat serving in Delhi once remarked caustically to a bunch of Indian journalists. The jibe at Indian "paranoia" about Pakistan's infamous intelligence agency might actually have cut closer to the truth than the career diplomat intended.

No rogue strike, all hands point to Pakistani military


The details given by the arrested men also reveal how ISI is keen to access confidential information about India's military. Though the moles had limited access to sensitive information, they could provide a lot of names, and details of procedures and logistics. The penetration of IAF's TAC-DE (tactical and combat deployment establishment) at Gwalior — the IAF's version of Topgun that develops air combat strategies — was a serious security breach. Elements of Army battle plan 'ORBAT' (order of battle) were compromised as well, said investigators.

Spies are popping up with an alarming frequency. From Army to BSF to IAF — ISI seems omnipresent.

A joint probe by Kolkata Police's special task force (STF), the Delhi Police crime branch and special cell, UP STF, and Rajasthan Police, under the guidance of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), has netted 14 ISI operatives across the country since November 14.

Of these, seven either have roots or connections in West Bengal, including Pakistanis Mohammed Aijaz and Mohammed Illyas. Aijaz was arrested on November 27 near the Meerut Cantonment railway station by the UP STF following IB inputs. Information provided by him led to the arrest of two accomplices from Kolkata who had facilitated a fake Aadhaar card and arranged his stay in Bihar prior to his arrival in Bareilly in December 2014. The module handled fake bank notes of a couple of crores, with Kolkata STF recovering Rs 45 lakh.

READ ALSO

Post Pathankot attack, security of all military bases to be reviewed


The other module, led by Illyas, was based in Kolkata and trying to prepare fake documents like passports and voter ID to help Pakistani and Bangladeshi ISI recruits enter India. Another, with a bigger reach, had operatives like the Kolkata-based GRSE employee Mohammed Irshad, rifleman from Rajouri, Fareed Khan, and Islamabad-born Mohammed Ijaz, and reported on Army, Navy and Air Force movements in eastern, western and northern India.

Delhi Police crime branch swung into action in November when it nabbed Kafaitullah Khan from Jammu and Kashmir, who was recruiting spies for ISI. The first in his list was his relative Abdul Rasheed, posted in the BSF. Rifleman Fareed of the Army was next to be arrested. Within a month, the crime branch conducted another operation with Military Intelligence sleuths and arrested Ranjith K K from Bathinda.

Born near Islamabad, Aijaz comes from a well-placed Pakistani family. His brother is a photographer with the British high commission, where he met elites like former Pakistan foreign minister Hina Rabbani and cricketer Shahid Afridi. Yet, when Aijaz took a flight out of Karachi to Bangladesh after nine months of ISI training, he passed himself off as an orphan.

Pushed through Bangladesh, it was GRSE employee Irshad who got him settled both at Garden Reach and Bareilly in UP.

Investigators have identified Aijaz — the man who photographed the Kolkata dockyard — and Kafaitullah as the two men who coordinated the ISI operations in north and east India. The probe into Ijaz, coupled with inputs from Meerut police and the UP STF, revealed that he had attempted to conceal his identity and "marry into" an Indian family to down in India.

Spies kept Rajasthan police on its toes with three operations conducted in December alone. It began on December 9, when Deena Khan (55) and Imamuddin (55) were arrested from Baap village in Jodhpur. The second operation, on December 27, led to the arrested of former Armyman Gordhan Singh Rathore, 58, from Jaisalmer. The last, on December 28, led to the arrest of Birbal Khan, 25, while he was taking photographs of IAF preparations for the upcoming Iron Fist exercise at Chandan Firing Range near Jaisalmer.

For Punjab Police, there has been a "catch" every year since 2013. In February 2015, they arrested Ashwani Kumar, a constable with the defence security core unit in the Army, for possessing detailed maps and photos of a few Army units, and seven Pakistan SIM cards.

Pathankot perspective: India spies ISI conspiracy with 14 arrests in 2 months - Times of India