E-Paper
Pakistani-born man granted Indian citizenship in 2016 held for spying
Bhagchand came to India from Pakistan in 1998 with his family on a visit visa and started working as a taxi driver and labourer after getting Indian citizenship
The Rajasthan Police have arrested a 46-year-old Pakistani-born man, who was granted Indian citizenship in 2016, from Delhi for allegedly spying for Pakistan, a police officer said.
Bhagchand, the accused and a resident of Delhi’s Sanjay Colony Bhati Mines, was allegedly in touch with a Pakistani handler for three to four years and was receiving money for spying. He allegedly provided the handler with Indian mobile numbers and was in touch with him through his relatives in Pakistan.
Bhagchand was arrested after Narayan Lal Gadri, who was earlier held on charges of espionage from Rajasthan’s Bhilwara on August 14, named him during interrogation.
Director general of police (intelligence) Umesh Mishra said a team of Rajasthan Intelligence keeps a constant vigil on Pakistan’s spying activities. He added that Gadri, 27, who is currently in judicial custody, would get SIM cards and provide them to the Pakistani handlers for operating fake social media accounts.
Mishra said Bhagchand sourced the SIM cards from Delhi and the money he allegedly received from the Pakistani handlers was also used to buy a secondhand phone. The fake social media accounts were operated in Pakistan as the two shared one-time passwords for them using the Indian SIM cards via WhatsApp and Signal apps.
Bhagchand came to India from Pakistan in 1998 with his family on a visit visa. He started working as a taxi driver and labourer after getting Indian citizenship.
