The Asian Age

Ex- envoy gets 3 yrs in jail for spying for ISI

- AGE CORRESPOND­ENT

Former diplomat Madhuri Gupta, who had served at the Indian high commission in Islamabad, was on Saturday sentenced to three years in jail by a Delhi court which convicted her for passing on sensitive informatio­n to Pakistan’s ISI.

Additional sessions judge Sidharth Sharma gave her the maximum sentence for the offences of spying and wrongful communicat­ion of informatio­n protected under the law, observing that an educated woman like her did not deserve any leniency.

Gupta, who was the second secretary ( press & informatio­n) at the high commission, was held guilty on Friday under various provisions of the Official Secrets ( OS) Act.

She has been granted bail by the court to allow to appeal against the conviction and the sentence.

While convicting her, the court had said that the emails “passed on by the accused were categorica­lly sensitive informatio­n which could have been useful to the enemy country... and its secrecy was of utmost importance”.

She was suspected by

She was arrested on April 22, 2010 by the special cell of the Delhi police for allegedly passing on sensitive informatio­n to Pakistani officials and remaining in touch with two ISI officials

Indian intelligen­ce agencies of spying for Pakistan’s Inter- Services Intelligen­ce since 2008.

According to the prosecutio­n, the ministry of external affairs had received informatio­n that Gupta had been maintainin­g unauthoris­ed contacts with Pakistani intelligen­ce officials and was passing on sensitive official informatio­n personally as well as through electronic means from her computer at her office and residence in Islamabad.

Ms Gupta was convicted under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act which attract a maximum sentence of three years and fine or both.

She was arrested on April 22, 2010 by the special cell of the Delhi police for allegedly passing on sensitive informatio­n to Pakistani officials and remaining in touch with two ISI officials, Mubshar Raza Rana and Jamshed.

 ?? — ASIAN AGE ?? A minor fire broke out at the Congress headquarte­rs in New Delhi on Saturday.
— ASIAN AGE A minor fire broke out at the Congress headquarte­rs in New Delhi on Saturday.

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