NIA files chargesheet against Indian operative of Pak ISI in espionage case

Vijayawada: The NIA on Friday filed a supplementary chargesheet against an Indian operative of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI for allegedly raising funds for espionage activities in India, an official said.

The first supplementary chargesheet against Imran Yakub Giteli, a resident of Godhra in Gujarat, was filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) before the special NIA court in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, he said.

The official said a case was registered in November 2019 under sections of the IPC, the UAPA and the Official Secrets Act in Vijayawada over a conspiracy hatched by Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agents along with their associates based in India to carry out terrorist acts in India.

They were involved in espionage activities by collecting sensitive and classified official information relating to vital defence installations in order to threaten the integrity, security and sovereignty of India, he added.

The official said the National Investigation Agency re-registered the case in December 2019 and took over the investigation.

The premier investigation agency had earlier filed a chargesheet against 14 accused, including three civilians with business interests in Pakistan, in June last year, he said.

Giteli was in contact with Pakistani agents and used to meet them during his visits to Pakistan, the NIA official.

On the instructions of Pakistani ISI agents, he was transferring money into the accounts of Navy personnel in lieu of passing sensitive and strategic information, the official added.

Giteli was raising funds for terrorist activities in the garb of illegal cloth business, he said.

Investigation revealed an organised wide network of Pakistan-based espionage activities in India utilising services of operatives like Giteli, the official said, adding further investigation in the case is on.