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Indian police have briefly detained two British citizens at a hotel near Delhi's international airport on suspicion of monitoring flights using high-technology surveillance equipment, according to Indian police and media reports.
India is on high alert for terrorist activity following a weekend bombing in the western city of Poona, which killed 10 people, including two foreigners, in the first such assault since the devastating Mumbai attack in November 2008.
Stephen Hampston and Steven Martin were arrested on Monday night at the Radisson Hotel after staff there grew suspicious of their behaviour and informed Indian intelligence agencies, according to the reports.
"They were picked up on the basis of suspicion but nothing incriminating has been found," Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for Delhi Police, told The Times.
"We are satisfied with the interrogation and have released them," he said, while declining to comment on the reports that the two men possessed sophisticated tracking equipment.
The British High Commission told The Times that it was aware of the arrest of the men and was providing consular assistance, but did not know why they had been detained. It declined to provide further details.
The NDTV news channel said police found the two men in possession of a map of the airport as well as "radar-like equipment", which could be capable of tracking aircraft.
But it also said that there was no evidence of terrorist activity yet and the men had told police the equipment was meant for plane-spotting.
The Press Trust of India said the two men possessed "high-tech binoculars".
Their detention comes as another British citizen, Andy Pag, awaits trial in the north Indian state of Rajasthan on terrorism charges for possessing a satellite telephone without a licence.
Mr Pag, a 35-year-old "eco-adventurer", was arrested on January 11 after entering India from Pakistan while trying to drive around the world in a bus powered by bio-fuel.
He says he was unaware that satellite phones required a licence in India, and denies any involvement in terrorist activity.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7028626.ece
India is on high alert for terrorist activity following a weekend bombing in the western city of Poona, which killed 10 people, including two foreigners, in the first such assault since the devastating Mumbai attack in November 2008.
Stephen Hampston and Steven Martin were arrested on Monday night at the Radisson Hotel after staff there grew suspicious of their behaviour and informed Indian intelligence agencies, according to the reports.
"They were picked up on the basis of suspicion but nothing incriminating has been found," Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for Delhi Police, told The Times.
"We are satisfied with the interrogation and have released them," he said, while declining to comment on the reports that the two men possessed sophisticated tracking equipment.
The British High Commission told The Times that it was aware of the arrest of the men and was providing consular assistance, but did not know why they had been detained. It declined to provide further details.
The NDTV news channel said police found the two men in possession of a map of the airport as well as "radar-like equipment", which could be capable of tracking aircraft.
But it also said that there was no evidence of terrorist activity yet and the men had told police the equipment was meant for plane-spotting.
The Press Trust of India said the two men possessed "high-tech binoculars".
Their detention comes as another British citizen, Andy Pag, awaits trial in the north Indian state of Rajasthan on terrorism charges for possessing a satellite telephone without a licence.
Mr Pag, a 35-year-old "eco-adventurer", was arrested on January 11 after entering India from Pakistan while trying to drive around the world in a bus powered by bio-fuel.
He says he was unaware that satellite phones required a licence in India, and denies any involvement in terrorist activity.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article7028626.ece
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