UP ATS arrests two men suspected of spying for ISI

PTI, Nov 26, 2023, 5:23 PM IST

Representative image (source: Pexels)

Lucknow: The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested two men suspected of spying for Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and terror financing, the ATS said in a statement on Sunday.

The ATS has arrested Amrit Gill alias Amrit Pal (25), a native of Punjab’s Bhatinda, and Riyazuddin (36), a resident of Faridnagar under the Bhojpur police station area of Ghaziabad.

The ATS team arrested Amrit Gill from Bathinda on November 23 and brought him on transit remand, while Riyazuddin was summoned to the ATS headquarters for questioning, from where he was arrested on Sunday.

According to ATS, information was received that some people are getting money from suspicious sources, which is being used in terror activities and espionage. The ATS has alleged that the duo were sending ”sensitive confidential information” to ISI for money.

After investigation, an FIR was registered at the ATS police station under the relevant sections against Riyazuddin, Izharul Haq and others. Haq, according to the ATS, is currently lodged in a Bihar jail. The ATS will bring him to Lucknow on a remand in connection with the current case.

During the collection of evidence, the ATS analysed Riyazuddin’s bank accounts and found information about Rs 70 lakh transferred between March 2022 and April 2022. It was also transferred to different accounts. In this series, money was sent to auto driver Amrit Gill, who provided information to the ISI.

Amrit Gill had shared information about the Indian Army’s tanks etc. Riyazuddin and Haq met while doing welding work in Rajasthan, and since then both were working for the Pakistani intelligence agency while keeping in touch with each other.

The statement said that the interrogation and preliminary evidence collected revealed that Gill was in contact with Pakistani ISI agents and used to send sensitive and restricted information related to the Indian Army. In return for this work, he was provided financial support with the help of Riyazuddin and Haq.