Darjeeling: Man arrested for supplying Army documents to ISI Agents

Darjeeling : Darjeeling Police arrested one Mohammad Azad from Khaprail for his alleged links with Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) operatives based in Delhi. On Thursday the Commanding Officer of the Civil Government Traffic Department based at the Sukna 33 Corps Head Quarters lodged an FIR at the Kurseong Police Station naming Azad for allegedly transferring documents and photographs of army installations to agents in Delhi. 39 year old Azad had been working as a cleaner in the Civil Government Traffic Department since 1999. At around 4 pm on Thursday Azad was trying to flee towards the New Jalpaiguri Railway Station from his residence in Khaprail in the Kurseong sub division, when the police intercepted his vehicle and arrested him. “We have found pictures of important army installations in his Cell phone. Azad has been booked under Sections 3 and 9 of Official Secrets Act 1923.  Azad will be produced at the Kurseong Court on Friday. We have also informed our Delhi counterparts.” stated Kunal Agarwal, Superintendent of Police, Darjeeling. Based on the FIR a new case has been initiated. 

Links are yet to be established between Thursday’s case and the earlier case involving ISI agents based in Nepal. Interestingly this incident comes on the heels of a similar incident in which 5 persons were arrested in connection with supplying important documents pertaining to army and air force installations along with troop movements to ISI agents based in Nepal. Incidentally the arrest of one Bidyut Kumar Sinha (43) an Upper Division Clerk with the Army Supply Corp in the South Western Command, Jaipur, Rajasthan on May 14 triggered the arrest of members of the alleged ISI ring operational in North Bengal. Sinha spilled out the name of one Maghan Bahadur Singh (54), a former army driver who was then arrested from Sukna further leading to the arrests of Mesha Sauria (54) of Panighatta Tea Estate under the Mirik Police Station; Dhan Kumar Pradhan (42) of Panighatta Bazar and Gopal Khati @ Biswakarma (39) of Lal Pool Naxalbari and Mani Kumar Biswakarma (53)- an Upper Division Clerk with the Army in Sukna. The documents would be carried in person from Bhadrapur Airport near the Indo-Nepal border to Kathmandu where they would be handed over to ISI agents based in Nepal. For each document the Indian agents used to receive Rs. 25000/- along with air fare.