2 held in Lucknow for allegedly helping Pak spy

Lucknow/New Delhi: Two men, suspected to have helped an alleged Pakistani spy in procuring passport and driving licence using forged documents, were arrested on Tuesday by the Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh police in Lucknow.

The duo, identified as Mohd Arshad alias Arshu and Chaand, were arrested from the old city area on charges of assisting Syed Amir Ali (36), who was nabbed at Delhi's IGI airport on Saturday, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) A K Jain told PTI in Lucknow.

He said the two accused were touts, who prepared fake papers including address proof, which were used by Ali, alias Jabbar to obtain the passport and other documents, including a driving licence.

The ADG said the two were being interrogated.

A senior police officer in Delhi said the two were caught by a joint team of Delhi Police's Special Cell and UP's ATS. There were reports about a third arrest but police have not confirmed it.

While the seized passport was issued under the name of 'Syed Amir Ali', the licence was in the name of 'S A Ali', the Delhi Police officer said.

Official sources said investigators are probing whether Arshad had bribed passport and transport department officials to get these documents for Ali.

Ali, who the police says hails from Karachi, was caught while trying to board a flight to Damman in Saudi Arabia allegedly using the fake passport he procured from Lucknow, where he stayed between 2005 and 2006. Ali was staying in Shahdara area of the national capital in the guise of a man hailing from Lucknow and was working as a technician in a mobile phone repair shop in Mansarovar Park in north-east Delhi.

Investigators have learnt that he entered India through Nepal five years ago and stayed in Lucknow.

After Ali was handed over to Delhi Police's Special Cell by immigration officials who arrested him, police personnel from the capital had gone to Meerut and Lucknow to investigate how he managed to obtain a fake passport and driving licence.

Investigators also claimed they had seized maps and documents of Delhi Cantonment, Meerut Cantonment and Hindon airbase from him.

The UP police is also conducting a probe into issuance of passport to Ali.

Initial investigations have revealed that the driving licence recovered from him was originally issued in the name of another person, official sources said in Lucknow.

ADG (Law and Order) Brijlal has said it was a "serious lapse" as the address of a person applying for passport was doubly verified by local intelligence unit and the district police authorities.

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Jain said the investigation has found that a fake intelligence report was used to issue a passport to Pakistani national Syed Amir Ali.

"Investigation has revealed that local intelligence unit's (LIU) report attached in the file of Ali at the passport office was fake as no such report was dispatched on that day," Jain told reporters.

He said that as per the passport office records obtained by the ATS, the LIU report was sent on June 9, 2005.

"Not a single report was sent to the passport office by LIU on that day. Moreover the number of LIU report S649 mentioned in Amir's file was originally issued in the name of one Sunil Saxena," he said.

Jain said the address on which the passport was issued was also found to be fake.

"House number 172/84 was mentioned as the address on the passport, which during verification was found to be fake," he said.

He said a copy of ration card attached along with the application was also found to be fake.

"Two marksheets and transfer certificate attached with the documents were also found to be fake," he said.

The ADG said the passport office staff will also be quizzed in this regard. "We will probe that how this sabotage was carried out," Jain said.

He said documents related to police report regarding verification of the Pakistani spy will also be examined.

Jain said that during his stay in Lucknow, Ali resided at different places in the city, including Vivek Khand in Gomti Nagar and Munshi Pullia.

"Ali's driving licence was issued on the same address mentioned in the passport and PAN card was issued on the address of a house owned by a retired engineer in Gomti Nagar," he said.

"Ali, who ran an electrical shop at Ujala market in Gomti Nagar, filed his income tax return for three consecutive years," he said.

Jain said that the police was also tracking his local connection as a cautionary measure.

Earlier two alleged aides of Ali, Mohd Arshad alias Arshu and Chaand were arrested by the Special Cell of Delhi Police and UP ATS.

"They helped Ali in preparing fake documents for which they charged Rs 16,000," he said.

He said that besides being a tout Mohd Arshad was also a property dealer.

"Both the persons have been taken to Delhi," he said.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court here sent the two men to seven days police custody.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Kaveri Baweja, in a chamber hearing, sent Chand Mohammed and Mohd Arshad for custodial interrogation till November 23.

Sources said one person linked with Arshad and Chand alias Anwar is still absconding.