Suspected ISI agent held in Uttarakhand

A suspected ISI agent who allegedly gathered sensitive information for the Pakistani agency while working as a domestic help at the residence of an Indian diplomat in Islamabad has been arrested in Uttarakhand.

The suspect had allegedly bugged electronic devises belonging to the diplomat and accessed important files and information, said Uttar Pradesh ADG, Law and Order, Anand Kumar.

The suspect, identified as Ramesh Singh, had subsequently returned to the country. He was arrested from Pitoragarh in a joint operation by the Uttarakhand police, the Uttar Pradesh ATS and military intelligence units, police said on Thursday.

Pak. phone recovered

He had been on the radar of the UP ATS ever since Aftab from Faizabad was arrested in May last on charges of spying for the ISI. Based on his inputs, the joint team searched Ramesh Singh’s house in Didihat Garali in Pitoragarh on Wednesday and recovered a Pakistani Q mobile phone, allegedly provided by the ISI to communicate with him.

“Ramesh admitted to his crime and revealed many details about his anti-national activities on the basis of which he was arrested,” said Aseem Arun, IG, Uttar Pradesh ATS.

According to the police, Ramesh Singh had gone to Islamabad in 2015 to work as a domestic help in the house of the diplomat. He had then been allegedly recruited by the ISI to obtain information about the official.

FIR filed

hE came under the police radar after he returned to India in September last year. ISI officials had asked him to spy in the country, said Mr. Arun. Forensic examination of the phone was under way. An FIR has been registered at the ATS thana in Lucknow under Section 121A of the IPC and Sections 3,4, 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act.