M A I N   N E W S

2 ISI agents in police net

Hyderabad, January 27
The police today arrested a Pakistani national on charges of spying for the ISI and passing on vital information relating to defence establishments in the country. It also detained another for allegedly trying to establish the agency’s network in the city.

Ashique Ali, alias Taher (21), a native of Mohalla of Kasimabad tehsil in Pakistan, was arrested, leading to seizure of e-mail printouts, a pocket diary containing telephone numbers and addresses of his Pakistani contacts, a sketch map and photographs of defence areas, the Nizamabad District Police Superintendent, Dr A. Ravishanker, said over phone.

The accused, who studied up to intermediate, was recruited into military intelligence in the Sindh cantonment of Pakistan in April 2001 and was trained in trade craft of military intelligence for 40 days in Pakistan by Mahmmood and Tahir of Pakistan military intelligence, he said.

Ashique was sent to India in June 2001 via Attari with a Pakistani passport and an Indian visiting visa and was asked to join Ahmediya sect and settle here to collect information relating to defence installations, particularly the 54 Div based at Secunderabad, deployment of missiles and troops, the SP said.

He came to Hyderabad after destroying his travel documents, the SP said, adding that the accused on his way to Hyderabad from Delhi met one Army sepoy, EME centre, Secunderabad in the train.

The accused collected defence related information through the Army sepoy and took photographs of defence establishments besides preparing sketches of the Secunderabad cantonment. PTI

Clues to US centre attack

Kolkata, January 27
Investigators have found some “positive clues” after questioning several eyewitnesses of Tuesday’s terrorist strike on the American Centre here even as the police said it would take some more time to achieve a breakthrough.

“We have got some more positive clues after examining several eyewitnesses, including the injured policemen, who have seen the terrorist strike from a better angle,” Deputy Commissioner (I) of Police, Detective Department, Soumen Mitra said.

Mr Mitra, who is in charge of the investigation, said they were confident that these clues would help them in “pinpointing the terrorists”.

Claiming the investigation was proceeding in the right direction, he, however, said “it will take some more time to make a breakthrough.”

“Though, we claimed initially that a breakthrough was possible within a couple of days, it could not be achieved due to a certain setback,” he said.

On the police’s claim that they had zeroed in on the attackers, Mr Mitra said they were yet to ascertain whether they were in the country or had crossed the border. PTI