Siblings nabbed for espionage impersonated BARC scientists

Two brothers, who were arrested for their involvement in the alleged espionage network, were trying to connect with a senior official of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), a premier multi-disciplinary Nuclear Research Centre.

Adil Hussain (59) was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police from Seemapuri, East Delhi, on Sunday, while his brother Akhtar was detained by the Mumbai Police, officials said.

According to investigators, the siblings were impersonating as scientists from BARC and had even obtained fake identity cards.

The investigators also believe that the brothers, along with some other people, who are yet to be arrested, were being operated by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) handlers.

Adil told the police that he had obtained some nuclear-related design from a Russian scientist and sold it to a scientist in Iran.

The money they earned from the deal was invested in properties in Dubai. He had been living in Dubai and several other countries for several years.

The police recovered one original passport and two forged copies from Adil. He was arrested and a case under Sections 61(2), 318, 338 and 340 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against him.

Sources disclosed that the racket was being operated from Jamshedpur where forged documents were used to prepare fake passports and identity cards.

The investigation team is now tracing individuals who were in contact with the suspects, source of the confidential information and its intended recipients. The authorities are also verifying the scale of the network and how many people may have obtained forged passports through this operation.

Investigations revealed that Adil had travelled to several countries, including Pakistan.

Officials said Adil maintained contact with nuclear scientists based overseas, while Akhtar visited several Gulf nations and allegedly obtained three identity cards from a confidential centre using forged documents.