Jaipur, June 3 Rajasthan Police have arrested a government employee, Shakoor Khan, on charges of spying for Pakistan after interrogating him for five days.
He was formally taken into custody late Monday night after being detained on May 28 by Intelligence and other investigative agencies.
Shakoor Khan will be produced in court, where police will seek his remand for further investigation into his alleged involvement in espionage and connections to foreign intelligence operatives.
Khan, currently posted as assistant administrative officer in the District Employment Office in Jaisalmer, has a political background -- he previously served as the personal assistant (PA) to former Congress Minister Saleh Mohammad in 2008, when Mohammad was the MLA from Pokhran.
DIG CID CB (Security) Vishnukant Gupta confirmed that Khan was under surveillance after his activities raised suspicion.
The investigation revealed that he was in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an officer at the Pakistan High Commission in India.
The connection was allegedly facilitated by Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra.
Khan also reportedly met Sohail Qamar, another individual linked to the Pakistan High Commission.
According to DIG Gupta, Shakoor Khan had met these contacts multiple times within the premises of the Pakistan High Commission.
He is said to have travelled to Pakistan several times, obtaining visas with the assistance of Danish.
Intelligence sources claim Khan was in contact with at least 13 ISI operatives via WhatsApp, through which he allegedly shared sensitive information regarding the movement of the Indian Armed Forces.
Shakoor is also accused of facilitating the travel of other individuals to Pakistan, further intensifying concerns about a possible network. He is a resident of Mangalio Ki Dhani, located in Baroda village near the India-Pakistan border, and has close relatives in Pakistan's Sindh province, including in Rahimyar Khan, Sukkur, and Ghotki.
During questioning, several Pakistani phone numbers were found in his mobile phone. Shakoor failed to provide any satisfactory explanation for these contacts. Investigators also discovered that he had visited Pakistan at least seven times in recent years, often without obtaining prior departmental permission -- a serious violation for a government employee.
His arrest comes in the backdrop of heightened security alerts following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, after which intelligence agencies intensified surveillance of suspicious individuals along border areas.
IG Gupta said that this act committed by Shakoor Khan comes under the Official Secrets Act 1923. A case has been registered against him under this Act, and he has been arrested.
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