A Pakistani diplomat based in Colombo has been named in the First Information Report (FIR) in the espionage case busted by the Tamil Nadu police by arresting his alleged ‘contact’ in Tamil Nadu on Monday, police said.
“The FIR has the name of Amir Zubair Siddiqui, who is a diplomat based in the Pakistan High Commission at Colombo.
This was done on the basis of the statement given to us by Thamim Ansari,” inspector general (internal security) Abash Kumar told DC.
He said more information about the espionage module and the role of Siddiqui would be known during the questioning of Ansari by the special team of the state ‘Q’ branch police.
Ansari was arrested by a ‘Q’ team while driving to the Tiruchy airport to catch the Colombo flight to deliver CDs of military establishments to Siddiqui through his Lankan contacts identified as Haji and Shaji living in Colombo, who are also included in the FIR.
The Pakistani high commission website has listed Siddiqui as fourth ranking in the mission and shown as counselor (visa), but police here believe he is a senior official of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
A court in Tiruchy on Friday evening allowed custodial questioning of Ansari by ‘Q’ branch for one day, which would end around 4.30 pm Saturday.
A native of Athiramapattinam in Thanjavur district, Ansari was first a medical representative and later took to exporting onions and potatoes to Sri Lanka, when he came into contact with Siddique through Haji and Shaji.
Police believe that he had already sent several CDs and sensitive documents relating to military establishments to Siddiqui.
Considering its sensitive nature and also the international ramifications, the close is being closely monitored by the IB and also the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
While Ansari is already in custody, efforts have begun to secure Haji and Shaji through the foreign ministry officials contacting Colombo counterparts. The real challenge would be getting Siddiqui.