The alleged handler of "ISI moles" in Indian security agencies, arrested recently, was to be introduced to senior Pakistan High Commission officials and get directions on recruiting new spies in the Indian Army and Border Security Force (BSF) from among disaffected youth, high-level official sources revealed on Friday.
Kafaitullah Khan was also to get logistics help from Pakistan High Commission officials for buying sophisticated spying tools for his contacts working in the army and BSF, the top sources told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues involved.
The revelation was made by Khan alias Master Raja, the 44-year-old library assistant who was arrested in the capital by Delhi Police Crime Branch on November 26 for obtaining sensitive and secret information related to India's national security and sharing it with Pakistan's spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
"After getting further directions from the Pakistan High Commission, Khan was to get a visa for Pakistan. He was told by his handlers in ISI he would be given some training (in Pakistan) for his activities in India," a source said.
Khan's handlers in the ISI had allegedly asked him to visit the Pakistan High Commission and meet their agents there for this purpose.
"Once Khan got the visa, his next mission was to reach Pakistan by the end of December. He was asked to stay in Pakistan for more than three months," the source said.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Ravindra Yadav said that Khan was to meet "someone" outside the Pakistan mission gate in Chanakyapuri, and to him Khan was to hand over his passport and the recommendation letter for the Pakistan High Commission offiials for issuing visa.
Yadav, however, refused to divulge who was the man whom Khan was to meet for visa purpose.
"Further logistics were also to be provided to Khan by the person whom he was to meet," said Yadav, adding the passport and the recommendation letter were seized from his possession.
Khan's ISI handlers had also given him a target to recruit the "maximum number" of Muslim youth, especially belonging to poor families, who were unemployed or those who felt alienated or discriminated against in the country.
For this purpose, Khan was going to Bhopal at the behest of an ISI agent to get the details on those attending the World Tableeghi Congregation or the Ijtema - a congregation for the enlightenment of Muslims and to spread the message of peace -- scheduled from November 28 to 30.
However, the plan never materialised as Khan was picked up by a team led by Assistant Commissioner of Police K.P.S. Malhotra of the Crime Branch at New Delhi Railway Station on November 26.
Khan was being tailed by Malhotra's team since he boarded a train from Jammu for Bhopal to attend the Ijtema congregation.
During interrogation, Khan revealed that he had gone to Pakistan in 2013 on a private visit and during his stay there had come in contact with an ISI agent who lured him with money to provide them secret information related to the defence forces.
"For this purpose, Khan cultivated his contacts in the army and BSF and they started passing on information to him through e-mail and mobile messaging apps WhatsApp and Viber," the top source said. These tools were also used to further pass on the information to ISI in Pakistan, he added.
"Khan was given specific tasks to get the information concerning the deployment of security forces and air force Operations. He had developed contacts in India's security agencies through whom he was procuring secret information," the source said.
Khan, a resident of Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, was selected for the BSF in 1992 but he did not join the para-military outfit. Later in 1993, he was selected for the Jammu and Kashmir Police service but left the police force after getting a job as a library assistant in 1995.
(Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in)
