UP MAN HELD ON SUSPICION OF BEING SPY LET GO DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE

NEW DELHI: The arrest of an e-rickshaw driver, Altaf Ansari, on suspicion of being a Pakistani spy in the Meerut Cantonment last week is proving to be embarrassing for the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Military Intelligence (MI) with the latter distancing itself from the case. “Our investigations reveal that Ansari would have strayed into the cantonment and may have been loitering in search of passengers. We don’t have anything to suggest that he is a spy,” a senior Indian Army officer familiar with the case said. Ansari, in his early 30s, was let out on bail subsequently, although the charges of spying levelled against him haven’t been withdrawn yet, he said. “Ansari was a victim of circumstances. There was an alert; Ansari was at the wrong place and the wrong time,” the officer added. Ansari failed to explain why he was loitering inside the cantonment and was arrested by a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the UP Police on September 25. A subsequent examination of his phone revealed that a few “WhatsApp” groups he was a part of had some members from Pakistan as well .

The UP Police, which had received an alert from central agencies of possible subversive activity and sabotage, called in the Military Intelligence (MI) after they scanned his mobile phone. Ansari was arrested and declared a Pakistani spy. The Meerut Cantonment is one of the oldest and most crucial military installation. It houses infantry brigades, crucial elements of the Army Supply Corps and even the newly formed “Rapid Divisions” – infantry and mechanized formations that can be deployed at short notice.