Navy espionage case: Man with Pak links held from Gujarat's Godhra

Altaf Hussain Harun Ghanchi aka Shakeel Ghanchi from Godhra in Gujarat's Panchmahal district was arrested in connection with the Indian Navy espionage case in a joint operation carried out by the Counter Intelligence Cell of Andhra Pradesh police and Gujarat police.

Godhra:The Counter Intelligence Cell of Andhra Pradesh police and Gujarat police arrested a man from Godhra in Gujarat's Panchmahal district in connection with the Indian Navy espionage case, officials said on Tuesday.

According to police, Altaf Hussain Harun Ghanchi aka Shakeel Ghanchi was arrested late Monday night from his house in Godhra's Mohmmadi Mohalla.

The Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday got the transit remand of the accused from Godhra sessions court, news agency PTI quoted Panchmahal Superintendent of Police Leena Patil as saying. The accused will be brought to Hyderabad for further investigation.

A press statement issued by Panchmahal police said before the arrest of Altaf Hussain, the police carried out raids at five-six different localities in Godhra on Monday and detained a few suspects, seizing and examining mobile phones, SIM cards and other gadgets.

Read: HC says Elgar Parishad accused Varavara Rao needn't surrender till Nov 18

Ghanchi is accused of indulging in anti-national activities and he used SIM cards of different mobile companies to get OTPs of WhatsApp accounts which he sent to his 'masters' in Pakistan to allow them to operate Indian WhatsApp accounts from Pakistan, the statement said.

It also said that the WhatsApp accounts were then used to "honey-trap" members of the Indian Navy.

The police statement further said that Ghanchi had visited Pakistan in 2016 and stayed there for 26 days where he came in contact with elements involved in terror activities.

The case relates to an international espionage racket in which Pakistan-based spies recruited agents in India to collect sensitive information on locations and movement of Indian naval ships and submarines, as well as other defence establishments.