A man was arrested and questioned by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Maharashtra, Intelligence Bureau and the Special Task Force (STF) of the Odisha Police on Sunday (July 9) for his alleged involvement in sharing OTPs with Pakistani intelligence operatives. done. said an official.
Abhijeet was arrested by the Odisha STF from Pune on June 29, following which he was brought to Bhubaneswar on transit remand after evidence of his links with Pakistani intelligence operatives was found, the official said.
Abhijeet, a statistics graduate from Gujarat’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University, worked in a private software company in Pune.
“Senior officials of ATS, IB and STF interrogated Abhijeet on Sunday to confirm his links with Pakistani intelligence operatives. Abhijeet was in a relationship with a Pakistani agent since 2020 and was in close contact with other arrested accused including Pathanisamanta Lenka of Odisha. ATS is likely to take the accused on transit remand. We will take NIA’s help if required,’ said STF SP KK Panigrahi.
Panigrahi said that six people have been arrested in connection with the case and more arrests are likely. Abhijeet has been sent to STF for a demand of four days from Saturday.
“The questioning of Abhijeet is important as he is suspected to have links with Pakistani intelligence officers,” the official said.
Abhijeet met Pakistani national on Facebook
The STF officer said that the accused met Danish alias Syed Danish Ali Naqvi of Khanki, Faizabad, Pakistan on Facebook Messenger.
Danish introduces Abhijeet to his friend Khurram alias Abdul Hamid from Karachi, who is suspected to be a senior intelligence officer of the Pakistan Army, who has a large network of agents in India.
The official said that on the instructions of Khurram, Abhijit used to transfer money to various Pakistani intelligence operatives working in India.
“Abhijeet also talked to at least seven Pakistani nationals and 10 Nigerian nationals through WhatsApp,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the STF has arrested five more Odisha residents in connection with the OTP sharing scam.
It is also suspected that Abhijeet has shared some secret documents related to Indian Army, Navy and other defense material with Pakistan’s ISI.
(with PTI inputs)
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