Warden smuggles ganja for Pakistan spy in prison, suspended

Balaji (22) of Vaniyambadi, one of the wardens at Puzhal Prison, reported for work on August 31 and police checked him as usual at the main entrance. They found him hiding 150 grams of ganja in his inner wear. Following this, the guards alerted the higher officers.

During interrogation, Balaji reportedly admitted that he smuggled the ganja to give it to an accused, Arun Selvarajan, a notorious spy, who was arrested in the year 2014 for working for Pakistan. Arun had arrived in Chennai from Srilanka in the year 2008, and was running an event management company as a cover. He had showed good revenue while his wealth really came from the ISI remittances into his Moradabad (UP) bank account.

He was recruited by ISI handler Amir Zubair Siddique, who posed as a diplomat at the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo. Police had then said that he had collected information and photos of several government facilities, including TN police headquarters, Coast Guard near the Marina, Kalpakkam atomic energy installation and Officers’ Training Academy, and sent it to his bosses in ISI.

Police on Sunday said that Balaji reportedly received Rs 2,000 to smuggle the ganja inside the prison. After the investigation, superintendent Senthamarai Kannan suspended Balaji. Further investigation is on.