Spy ring busted in Pak embassy, 1 staff told to leave India; others under lens

But Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit protested the arrests, claiming the charges were false.

New Delhi:

India will expel a Pakistani high commission staff member for -"espionage activities-" for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), a foreign ministry official said Thursday, soon after New Delhi police had detained him over the theft of defence documents.

The Ministry of External Affairs summoned Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit over the matter and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar told him that the Pakistan mission staffer has been declared persona non-grata for espionage.

-"FS (foreign secretary) summons Pak High Commissioner to convey that Pak High Commission staffer has been declared persona non-grata for espionage activities,-" foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said on Twitter.

However, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit protested the expulsion, claiming that 'the detention and manhandling of Pakistan HC staffer yesterday was in violation of 1961 Vienna Convention'. He asked the Indian government to ensure that 'such harassment does not happen in future'.

Denying that the official was a Pakistani spy, Basit claimed that Pakistan High Commission 'never engages in activity that is incompatible with its diplomatic status.'

The Pakistan High Commission staffer was detained after he was found in possession of defence documents while two others were arrested on espionage charges, police said.

“He was a havildar in Baloch regiment of Pak army, was later hired by ISI and was working in visa department in HC,” the Delhi Police said.

On intelligence inputs, Delhi Police Crime Branch took the staffer identified as Mehmood Akhtar in custody. The official claimed he was an Indian citizen and also showed a fake Aadhaar card to the police. He was released after questioning as he enjoys diplomatic immunity, they said.

The Pakistani official showed this fake Aadhaar card to Delhi police. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

“On initial interrogation, the Pakistan High Commission official said he is an Indian citizen and also showed a fake Aadhaar card,” Joint Commissioner Delhi Police, Ravindra Singh Yadav said.

Another spy identified as Shoaib will be arrested soon for his involvement, he added.

The Crime Branch also arrested two people, residents of Rajasthan, for allegedly passing on sensitive information to the staffer.

-"The spies are residents of Rajasthan working for Pakistan's ISI. The spies were in touch with the staff here at Pakistan High Commission and were providing sensitive information,-" said a senior police officer.

Those arrested have been identified as Maulana Ramzan and Subhash Jangir.

Defence deployment, BSF deployment maps and visa related documents were recovered from the two spies, said Delhi Police.

“They were carrying out the activities since last one and half years, but we were keeping an eye on them for the last 6 months,” police said.