The Air Force station security has arrested a man who was allegedly reconnoitring and photographing the sensitive base in the Deolali camp area of Nashik district on Sunday. He was remanded to police custody till September 16 by a Nashik Road court.
The suspect, Shabbir Haroon Shaikh (41), entered the Air Force station area and illegally shot 22 photographs of the crossroads and certain buildings etc. He took a bus from Panchavati in Nashik city for Deolali camp and entered the defence area at 12 pm on Sunday.
After he was caught, the officials recovered a Samsung cellphone, Karbonn cellphone, photocopy of an Aadhar Card, Union Bank ATM and other papers. Shaikh is a resident of Koperkhairane in New Mumbai and is originally from Solapur. He is a teacher at a school in Kurla.
The police said that Shaikh was taking pictures on his Samsung cellphone in the station, when the Air Force personnel apprehended and interrogated him.
He was later handed over to the Deolali Camp police station. A complaint was filed by squadron leader Vinay Kale under the Official Secrets Act 1923. Further investigations are underway. It may be recalled that the ATS had arrested Bilal Shaikh and his accomplice Himayat Baig in 2010 for conducting reconnaissance of sensitive places in Nashik. ATS also discovered links between Bilal and Abu Jindal.