Ex-IAF official from Kerala held for spying

A dismissed Air Force official, who allegedly shared secret documents with intelligence operatives backed by Pakistan’s ISI, has been arrested from Punjab by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police. The accused, identified as Ranjith, who was a Leading Aircraft man with the Indian Air Force posted at Bhatinda, was dismissed recently after the force came across allegations against him backed by actionable evidence put forth by security agencies, said a senior police official. 

Ranjith, a native of Kerala, was arrested on Monday and brought to Delhi — where he is being produced before a court — on transit remand, the senior official said. Ranjith allegedly shared secret information with operatives of an ISI-backed espionage ring through e-mails and inter-based text messaging services, said an official privy to the investigation. 

The officer added that Ranjith was roped in into the spy ring by an unidentified woman whom he had met over a social networking site. Ranjith’s arrest comes close on the heels of the cracking of an ISI-backed espionage racket by the Crime Branch in connection with which five persons — including a serving and a former army personnel and a serving BSF personnel — were arrested. 

However, the police haven’t yet been able to ascertain any specific link between Ranjith and the other racket, which were even found to have sources at the office of the Pakistan High  Commission here, the official added