After busting an espionage racket engaged in leaking military secrets to Pakistan in May, sleuths of Anti-Terrorists Squad (ATS) claimed to have made further breakthrough after netting Saleem Khan from Mumbai airport.
Kahn is reported to have been trained by laskar-e-Taiba (leT) handlers and had also financed the espionage racket. ATS officials claimed that Khan’s name first surfaced in the terror network while probing the terror attack in Rampur CRPF camp about a decade back.
“We achieved a major success when the ATS team camping in Mumbai trapped leT operative Saleem Khan from Mumbai airport on Monday morning,” said IG ATS, Aseem Arun while adding that sleuths had been on the look out of the militant for almost a decade.
“The name of Saleem Khan of Fatehpur district, was first surfaced two leT operatives Kaushar and Shairef who were arrested for their involvement in the CRPF camp attacl at Ramput in 2008,”Arun disclosed. The leT Militants had then revealed that Saleem Khan had undergone military training with them in a camp at Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied lashmir.
“Since then a `look Out’ notice was issued against Saleem Khan. In last May, when his name again surfaced during a crack down on espionage racket in Faizabad, fresh evidences of Khan’s activities were collected which led to his arrest in Mumbai. Saleem also financed the above espionage racket from time to time. The UP and Maharashtra ATS were grilling Khan further for more leads,” Arun said.
Earlier on May 3, the ATS arrested ISI conduit Aftab of Khwaspura area of Faizabad and busted an espionage racket. On inputs from Aftab, the ATS raided a house in Masjid Bunder area in South Mumbai and arrested Altaf Quereshi. The ATS and Mumbai police also raided Yusuf Manzil in Agri Pada of Mumbai and arrested Javed Iqbal. All three were involved in an espionage racket leaking military secrets.
Aftab, who was trained by Pakistan’s ISI was in touch officials in Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and also kept close vigil on movement and delpoyment of troops between Faizabad and lucknow. On his input two others - hawala operator Qureshi and his aide Javed were also netted from Mumbai. Qureshi had deposited money in the bank account of Aftab for carrying out espionage activities.
During interrogation, names of some more persons including Saleem Khan, who was arrested on Monday, cropped up.