A 59-year-old man was arrested in Delhi for his alleged involvement in espionage activities, including links with a foreign-based nuclear scientist.
The man, identified as Mohammad Adil Hussaini, was also
known to have links to a fake passport racket operating from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.
News agency PTI quoted an official as saying that the accused is also known by the names Syed Adil Hussain, Nasimuddin and Syed Adil Hussaini, and was apprehended from Seemapuri in Delhi two days ago.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah told PTI that Adil is a resident of Tata Nagar, Jamshedpur.
“Adil and his brother Akhtar Hussaini are suspected of supplying sensitive information to foreign countries and procuring multiple Indian passports using forged documents,” the officer added.
The entire network was allegedly being operated from Jamshedpur, where fake identity cards and passports were being prepared with the help of counterfeit documents.
During the search, police seized one original and two forged passports from Adil’s possession.
He was arrested in a case registered under Sections 61(2) (Criminal conspiracy), 318 (Cheating), 338 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc) and 340 (Forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine) of the BNS on October 26, the Additional CP added.
Adil’s brother Akhtar, who had travelled to several Gulf countries and allegedly obtained three identity cards of a confidential centre using forged documents, was also arrested by the Mumbai Police, it was known.
Meanwhile, investigations were underway to ascertain the number of people who were issued fake passports through the network.
Last week, an NIA court in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on Thursday sentenced Mohammad Haroon Haji Abdul Rehman Lakdawala from Mumbai and Imran Yakub Giteli from Godhra, Gujarat, to simple imprisonment of five-and-a-half years and six years, respectively.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 each on the offenders, failing which they will have to spend an additional year in prison, the NIA statement said.
The case relates to spying activities carried out at vital installations and Indian Navy establishments by foreign spies/agents operating in the country.
Lakdawala was arrested by the NIA in May 2020, and Giteli in September that year, from their respective home states.
ALSO READ | Rajasthan Man Honeytrapped By Pakistani Handler, Arrested For Spying For ISI
