In the Visakhapatnam espionage case involving the leakage of confidential defense material via a Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy network, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) detained one more accused on Monday.
Following NIA operations at two locations in Mumbai and one in Assam today, Amaan Salim Shaikh was taken into custody.
His arrest brings the total number of accused people detained in this case to three. Four people in all, including two fugitive Pakistani operatives, have already been charged in this case by the NIA.
Amaan was found to have been involved in the SIM card activation process utilized by the Pakistani intelligence officers participating in the scam.
The accusations against him were initially made public in 2021 after a case was filed on January 12, 2021, by the Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell.
In June 2023, the case was taken over by the NIA.
Two cell phones were also taken today by NIA teams from the place where Amaan was taken into custody. During additional NIA raids, two more cell phones and several private documents were taken from various places.
Two people were charged in July by the NIA, one of whom is the fugitive Pakistani national Meer Balaj Khan. According to investigations, Meer Balaj Khan and an arrested suspect named Akash Solanki were members of an espionage module that obtained and leaked critical information about the Indian Navy to handlers in Pakistan.
The NIA has submitted a supplemental chargesheet on November 6th, naming Manmohan Surendra Panda and Alven as the other two accused parties. Alven, a Pakistani intelligence operator based in Pakistan, is on the run while Panda is in custody.
Custodial interrogation of Amaan is anticipated to produce new leads in the case; investigations are still proceeding.
Post Your Comments