Uttar Pradesh ATS nabs third ISI suspect in espionage case

In a joint exercise with Maharashtra Police, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad nabbed a suspected ISI operative in Mumbai by carrying out overnight raids. It was a part of a spying racket linked to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

IG UP-ATS Aseem Arun on Thursday said that the UP ATS picked up Altaf Qureshi on Wednesday night from Masjid Bunder area in South Mumbai and Javed Iqbal from Yusuf Manzil building at Agreepada on Thursday morning. These arrests were made after getting leads from another ISI suspect Aftab Ali. So far, three suspects of the ISI have been arrested since Wednesday.

The trio was involved in an espionage racket, said Arun. Aftab is believed to have been trained by Pakistan’s ISI, he further added. Also, Aftab was in constant touch with the Pakistan High Commission officials in New Delhi.

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After interrogating Aftab, Qureshi, a hawala operator who also allegedly worked for ISI was held in Mumbai, while Iqbal, the third suspect, is an aide of Qureshi.

A cellphone and Rs 71.57 lakh in cash have been seized by ATS from the house of Qureshi. Javed used to get instructions from Pakistan and at his behest Qureshi often deposited money in Aftab’s bank account, an ATS official said after doing the duo’s interrogation.

The official further added that Javed was in constant touch with ISI officials in Pakistan. More arrests are likely to be made as other names have also been cropped up following the interrogation.

The ATS got cracking after Uttar Pradesh Police recently issued a warning of a possible terror attack in the state by ISI-trained terrorists.

“The group, allegedly trained by Pakistan’s ISI, has reportedly been asked to target Ayodhya, Varanasi, Vrindavan, and the Taj Mahal in Agra,” UP police said.

A Khurasan module was unearthed after Saifullah’s death in March. Recently, some self-radicalised youths were also arrested by the UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

With inputs from PTI.