Police gets four names from ISI operative Kafaitullah’s conversations

New Delhi: Telephonic conversations recorded in a CD seized from alleged ISI operative Kafaitullah Khan’s possession have disclosed names of four persons who are suspected to be active sources for the espionage racket he headed.

While three of the suspects are located in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, the fourth is at West Bengal’s Siliguri city, said an official privy to the investigation.

“Of the three suspects located at Rajouri, one is a serving Army personnel, another retired this year from the armed force, who is also suspected to be a relative of Khan, and the other is a civilian,” said the official, adding that the suspect at Siliguri is also a serving Army personnel.

The names of the two Rajouri-based sources — the serving and the retired army personnel — had also appeared in the frequently called list extracted from Khan’s mobile phone records, the official said.

While a 14-member team of the Inter-State Cell of Delhi Police’s Crime Branch, led by two inspectors (to head each sub-team), has reached Rajouri, another eight-member team led by an inspector has left for Siliguri today, said the official.

The suspects and Khan indulged in frequent conversations, allegedly discussing about secret documents addressing them by code-name ‘Samaan’, said the official.

However, the police are still clueless regarding the intelligence agency’s source at the office of the Pakistan High Commission here, the official added.

On Thursday, Delhi Police intercepted Kafaitullah Khan from New Delhi railway station while he was heading to Bhopal to join a religious conversation.

After interrogating him, the police took him to Rajouri, from where they arrested serving BSF personnel Abdul Rasheed on Sunday, said police.

While Khan is a Pakistan Intelligence Operative who was allegedly running an espionage racket here backed by the ISI, Rasheed was one of his sources who is believed to have double-crossed him, said police.

The police recovered several secret documents — including maps disclosing troop locations and movements — from their possession. The duo have been booked under Official Secrets Act, police added.
PTI