A special NIA court in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday (March 5) sent a man to six years of rigorous imprisonment for passing on sensitive information like photographs and videos of critical Indian installations to agents working for Pakistan’s spy agency ISI. The convict was identified as Mohammad Rashid, hailing from Varanasi, who was sentenced by the NIA special court Lucknow in the espionage case registered in 2020.
The case was initially registered by ATS, Gomti Nagar in Lucknow, on January 19, 2020, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It was taken over and re-registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on April 6 of the same year.
Rashid was charge-sheeted in July 2020. The NIA had charge-sheeted another accused Rajakbhai Kumbhar in February 2021.
The special NIA court sentenced Rashid to three years of rigorous imprisonment with a Rs 2,000 fine or one-month imprisonment under section 120 B of the IPC, five years of rigorous imprisonment with a Rs 2,000 fine or one-month imprisonment under section 123 of the IPC, and six years of rigorous imprisonment with Rs 2,000 fine or one-month imprisonment under section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
"All sentences will run concurrently," an NIA spokesperson said, quoting the order.
What did the NIA say about the convict?
According to the NIA, investigations revealed that Rashid had shared photographs of sensitive, tactical and strategically important installations and places in India, as well as details regarding the movements of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, along with photographs of insignia clicked from his mobile, with agents across the border.
"It was also found during investigations that the accused had aided and abetted a conspiracy hatched by Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agents for the commission of terrorist acts," the spokesperson said.
Investigations further revealed that Rashid was in contact with agents linked to Pakistani Defence authorities, the ISI as well as government employees in Pakistan and was sending them the sensitive images and videos through WhatsApp.
The accused used to frequently reset his mobile phone and WhatsApp account to erase any digital footprints of his communication to remove all traces of the same, the agency said.
Rashid helped ISI agents get WhatsApp accounts with Indian numbers: NIA
The NIA said that following the directions of the ISI agents, Rashid had also fraudulently arranged Indian SIM cards along with one-time passwords for operatives of the Pakistani spy agency, to facilitate the activation of WhatsApp accounts with Indian numbers in their country.
"As part of the conspiracy, he had received funds and gifts from the ISI agents for supply of the information, including photos and videos of places of strategic, tactical and religious importance," the NIA said.
The trial against the remaining accused is continuing, the spokesperson said.
(With PTI inputs)
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