Tinsukia: Indian army has apprehended a suspected ISI operative along with his wife from a hotel in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia town and recovered a fake Power Grid Corporation identity card from his possession.
The accused has been identified as Md Hayat Khatib, 37, a resident of Karnataka and his wife as Samina Yakub, 24, a resident of Jammu & Kashmir. They were staying at Hotel Sapphire.
According to highly placed sources in intelligence agencies, the couple was staying in the posh hotel in Tinsukia since August 16 and have visited Tinsukia a number of times.
A source said, “Based on specific intelligence inputs, troops under 73 Brigade of Indian army launched a secret operation, and had put the couple on their radar. They were tracking each and every movement for the past few days before finally nabbing them on Thursday with the help of Tinsukia police.”
Also Read: Assam govt websites among 500 Indian sites targeted by Bangladesh hackers
“The agent has been impersonating himself as divisional engineer of Power Grid Corporation of India, stationed at Changlang, and has produced the same ID in the hotel as proof,” the source added.
Describing the modus operandi, the source said, the suspected individual always tried to get in touch with security personnel and senior rank officers. “Later, he developed a friendship with them and entered into a sensitive cantonment and restricted area with their help”, the source said.
Also Read: Assam to use portable device ‘SAANS’ in govt hospitals to prevent neonatal deaths
Sources said, during preliminary interrogation, the accused admitted that he had come to Tinsukia on several occasions on the pretext of business. “However, when security personnel verified his claims by speaking with individual he claims to have a business and his lie was exposed”, the source said.
The suspect was staying at Sapphire hotel with the help of a fake Identity card which is seen as a procedural lapse.
Sources claimed that the accused has been put under interrogation at an army location and multiple security and intelligence agencies are questioning him at the time of filing this news report.