Pakistan’s rogue Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency is targeting officers of Indian Army to elicit sensitive information. Interrogation of ISI operative Mohammed Pervez and his cohorts have revealed that they used to operate the Facebook ID in the name of Ikta Sharma and their main aim was to entrap senior Army personnel to whom they had sent friend requests.
But when they failed in luring the officers, they managed to get the details of a woman Colonel’s account and morphed her pictures. They started sending those pictures to her to blackmail her.
Meanwhile, Naushad, the Visa Counselor at the Pakistan High Commission here, to whom the accused Parvez had provided SIM cards, has also been questioned. Pervez also told police that he has been working with the ISI for many years and have received money for the services. Investigators said that they are investigating his antecedents and movements to ascertain the level of his espionage racket. Sleuths are also trying to ascertain the nature of documents pertaining to military installations that the alleged ISI spy has managed to send across the borders.
Mohammed Pervez and his aides, who used to blackmail a woman Colonel for sensitive Defence-related information, used to operate the Facebook ID Ikta Sharma and their main target was to entice key officers of the Indian armed forces by sending them friend requests. Their modus operandi was start with a conversation if the officer accepted the request.
“Pervez provided SIM cards to his three aides Munzaal, Bilal and Khalid so that they can stay in touch with the Pakistani Intelligence Agency ISI. Pervez was working for the ISI and gathering sensitive information in return of huge amounts of money,” said an officer.
Sleuths of Special Cell, the anti-terrorist cell of Delhi Police, are also investigating to identify Naushad’s ISI links as well because he was also provided SIM cards by the accused Pervez.
During Naushad’s interrogation, he denied having known Pervez or having any links with the ISI, the source said adding, “The SIM cards which Pervez claimed to have provided to Naushad were not found in the visa counsellor’s possession. It appears that Naushad destroyed sim cards provided to him by Pervez,” said the officer.
Accused Pervez was arrested from North Delhi’s Chandni Mahal on September 13 after which a Delhi Court had remanded him to 10 days of police custody.
During interrogation, police said it was revealed that accused Pervez is an ISI agent and he and his aides wanted to gather confidential information from the lady Colonel by blackmailing her.
The accused also confessed to police that previously he has supplied some secret information pertaining to security of India to the ISI.
After the arrest of the alleged spy, a case was registered against the accused and it was transferred to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police which is probing the matter and further efforts are on to unearth the entire spy ring.
During his interrogation, it emerged that he had visited Pakistan and had made SIM cards available to some Pakistani nationals.
It was suspected that he is linked with ISI, police said. He was found to have suspicious antecedents and is being questioned by the Special Cell sleuths in connection with the matter, they said.