Mumbai: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad on Wednesday arrested a suspect from Pydhonie for his alleged links to the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).
According to sources, the suspect, identified as Altaf Qureshi, was picked up from his residence on Wednesday afternoon by a joint team of UP and Maharashtra ATS. Earlier on Wednesday, the UP ATS had claimed to have busted an international espionage racket with the arrest of Aftaab Ali from Faizabad. Ali, they said, was sending sensitive information about the Indian army to his ISI handlers.
Sources said Qureshi, allegedly a hawala agent, is suspected to have sent large amounts of money to Aftaab's bank account on instructions from the ISI. The police have also recovered a large amount of cash from Qureshi's residence, and while the money is still being counted, sources said it would amount to at least ₹70 lakh.
“We are investigating Qureshi's background and antecedents in Mumbai. Several people connected to him are being questioned in this regard. We are also checking if he has a criminal record and whether he was on the radar of law enforcement or anti-terror agencies,” an officer with the Maharashtra ATS said. The UP ATS is likely to seek Qureshi's transit remand from the court on Thursday morning to take him back with them for further investigation.
The arrest comes less than a month after Nazim Ahmed, the alleged leader of a terror module, was arrested from Mumbra. Ahmed and his co-accused were arrested in a coordinated sweep by State and Central agencies from several states, and were allegedly planning terrorist activities.
