Lucknow, Nov 22 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) has arrested Lucknow resident Wasiullah Khan for working for a spy network of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
ATS officials said the accused was in touch with ISI handlers in Pakistan through a secret online group and had received money in cryptocurrency which he had later transferred to different ISI spies and agents operating in different parts of the state and the country.
An ATS statement said that Khan’s involvement surfaced in the ISI’s spying network after the arrest of Kasganj resident Shailendra Singh Chauhan a.k.a. Shailesh Kumar on September 25 this year.
Chauhan had revealed during interrogation that he had received money from the bank account of Khan and since then the ATS was tracking him.
The investigation so far had confirmed that Khan was in constant touch with the ISI handlers and some Pakistan-based hackers, who transferred money to him in the form of cryptocurrency and he used his bank account to transfer funds to spying agents after converting cryptocurrency into Indian currency.
An ATS official said the arrested accused was named in the FIR registered in the matter after arrest of Chauhan under Indian Penal Code section 121 (A) for conspiring to wage war against the country and section 171 for impersonating as army personnel by posting his photograph in army uniform as well as section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
These sections of impersonating were included as the previously arrested accused Shailendra Chauhan has mentioned himself as army personnel in his Facebook profile with photograph in army uniform.
He said this spying network shared crucial information about movements of army troops and defence installations.
He explained the ISI using these small pieces of crucial information to develop further and conspire against India.
He said the ATS is further investigating the network and other people associated with ISI.