Arrested spy had ID card, driving licence in Punjab

LUDHIANA - Nizam Baksh, a suspected Pakistan spy who was arrested Thursday, was living in Punjab under the assumed name of Sandeep Kumar for the past five years and had got a driving license and an identity card too, police said Friday.

Baksh, who was remanded in three-day police remand by a court here, was arrested from the old city area of this industrial hub. Police say he was sending “defence-related” information to Pakistan.

“The court has sent Baksh in police remand till May 25. During investigation, police recovered various hand made maps and photographs of different army stations, air force stations, installations, four mobile phones and many other crucial documents related to defence from his possession,” Manjinder Singh, investigation officer of the case, told IANS.

He added, “Baksh was living here for the last five years under the bogus name of Sandeep Kumar. He also had a driving license and an identity card issued by the district administration which said he was the son of Daljit Singh and a resident of Shahkot town in Jalandhar district of Punjab. Our investigation is on and we will try to ascertain his links with other people in the locality during interrogation.”

Police said Baksh was a resident of Thanewal district in Pakistan. He was sending defence related information to Pakistan through courier service.

Baksh has admitted that he had taken training from Pakistan before entering India in 2005. He was living here as a real estate agent and had lived in various other cities of Punjab and also in state capital Chandigarh, Singh said.

Ludhiana city is around 100 km from Chandigarh.

His arrest comes nearly 12 days after Chandigarh police arrested Pakistani spy Kashif Ali from the city.

Ali had been living in Chandigarh for over two years in a rented accommodation in Sector 44 under the fake name of Pawan Kumar.

His accomplices in Delhi and Chandigarh had helped him procure a voter identity card and a permanent account number (PAN) card.