The NIA has filed a preliminary chargesheet in a Chennai court in a case of attempts by a Sri lankan national to spy for Pakistan’s Intelligence agency, ISI, and carry out subversive activities in South India, including attacks on American and Israeli consulates.
The NIA has chargesheeted Sri lankan citizen Muhammad Sakir Hussein, Siva Balan and Mohammed Saleem before a designated NIA court. They have also been charged for offences relating to circulation of fake currency.
The trio has been charged for offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and for offences under the IPC. While the three persons have been charged, further probe against six other accused, including arrested accused Rafiq, is continuing.
In the chargesheet, the agency has claimed to have established evidence against accused persons for criminal conspiracy to target American consulate in South India and also circulating fake Indian currency notes.
Hussein, a Sri lankan national allegedly conspired with Amir Subair Siddique, working in Pakistan High Commission at Colombo and his higher officer who is referred to the FIR as Boss alias Shah, to cause explosions at the office of US Consulates in Chennai and Israel Embassy at Bengaluru for their alleged anti-Muslim stance. In order to carry out their plan, the ISI officials sent FICN amounting to Rs 5 lakh through some persons to Tamil Nadu.
The agency has cited 40 witnesses in the chargesheet out of which the identities of 20 have not been disclosed.
On April 29, Hussein was arrested by the Tamil Nadu police from Chennai. Documents including maps of Chennai city, photos of vital installations, and counterfeit currency to the tune of Rs 5 lakh were allegedly seized from him. The case was taken up later by the NIA in June this year.
Subsequently, a Sri lankan national Siva Balan, Mohammed Saleem and Rafiq were arrested. last month, with the arrest of Arun Selvarajan, another suspected ISI operative here, the probe into the Pakistan- sponsored espionage ring came a full circle, the agency said.
After his arrest, NIA said it was probing Selvarajan as part of the Thameem Ansari case. Ansari, another suspected ISI spy module, was arrested in September 2012.
A request to extradite another accused Mohammed Hossaini, a Sri lankan, is pending with Malaysian authorities.