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LUCKNOW/MEERUT Suspected ISI agent, Shahzad Wahab, 35, who was arrested in UP’s Moradabad on Sunday, had recruited 20 people, including three women, to spy for Pakistan’s secret agency and provided them funds on the instructions of his ISI handlers operating from across the border, said senior officials on Monday.
Shahzad, a resident of Rampur, was apprehended by the UP Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Sunday night, following inputs about his alleged involvement in cross-border smuggling and espionage activities for the ISI. He travelled to Pakistan several times over the years and was allegedly smuggling cosmetics, clothes, spices, and other items across the border, it was alleged.
The arrest came after a tip-off that a businessman operating from Moradabad was working for the ISI and involved in anti-national activities in the garb of a business related to women’s clothing. The action was part of the ongoing nationwide crackdown to identify people working for the ISI and involved in anti-national activities, after the killing of tourists in Pahalgam in April this year.
An ATS official confirmed Shahzad had brainwashed over 20 people and recruited them in the name of religion to spy for ISI. He said the ATS have further launched a hunt to trace people recruited by him, who have disappeared from their hideouts after coming to know about Shahzad landed into the hands of Indian security agencies.
The official said ISI handlers facilitated Shahzad’s Pakistan visits and grew his business. He visited Lahore at least three times a year under the garb of garments business. Shahzad also provided some crucial information related to India’s internal security to the ISI, he added.
As per initial investigation, Shahzad mainly worked to recruit ISI agents and provided money to the agents on the instructions of his handlers. He targeted men and women of humble background from different districts of West UP and recruited them to work for ISI after mobilizing them in the name of religion. Shahzad provided Indian SIM cards to ISI agents to communicate with their handlers in Pakistan, said the official.
Another police official said the suspect’s mobile phone details revealed that he was in constant touch with ISI members in Pakistan and often shared information related to activities in India before and after the Pahalgam attack.
“For further investigation, Shahzad has been brought to Lucknow after registering an FIR under appropriate sections of BNS and other acts with ATS police station in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow,” he said, adding: “We are also finding out about all his visits to Pakistan in recent years and people who were in touch with him on pretext of business and personal relations.”
‘Shahzad initially worked as a driver, also sold blankets’
Residents of Azad Nagar colony of Rampur’s Tanda informed the local police that Shahzad Wahab initially worked as a driver and also sold blankets. In recent years, he had started importing ladies’ suits and fabrics from Pakistan and sold them locally.
Shahzad’s wife, Razia, stated that her husband visited Pakistan multiple times, but insisted that the purpose was strictly business-related.
“He used to bring clothes and suits from Pakistan to sell here,” she said, denying the allegations. “If we were really making money from Pakistan, why would we still be struggling to build a house after 10 years,” she questioned.
