BHOPAL: Abbas Ali Khan, who was convicted and jailed in Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh on charges of spying for ISI, has been handed over to the Pakistani rangers at Attari-Wagah border. A special team was sent along with him from Gwalior on Saturday.
SP Gwalior Amity Sanghi told TOI that Khan had served his prison term but had to continue in detention in Gwalior due to the coronavirus lockdown. “We have released him at the border, he will now be taken care of by the rangers of Pakistan,” said the SP.
Khan, 42, was released from Gwalior jail in March 2020, and then shifted to an undisclosed detention centre where he spent the rest of his days until papers of his deportation were cleared by the ministry of home affairs.
He was arrested on March 13, 2006, from Gwalior's Daliawala locality where he was living under the fictitious name 'Madho Singh', say police. He had managed to obtain a driving licence and was planning to marry a local girl. Two Indians -Mohammad Shahid of Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh and Ameen Ansari, a Gwalior resident - were arrested for providing logistic support to him.
On May 28, 2008, Khan was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a local court in Gwalior. The two others were convicted under Official Secrets Act 1923 and Foreigners Act, 1946. While Ansari was jailed for 10 years, Shahid was handed a two-year prison term.
The prosecution said that Khan had a valid Pakistani passport (No K224602), dated May 20, 2001, which showed he was a resident of Satellite Town Colony, Police Station City, Rahim-yar-Khan district, in Punjab, Pakistan. He entered India under visa No P 391103, dated April 26, 2005, through Wagah border.
After entering India, he secured a residential permit (Under The Foreigners Order 1948). His visa was valid till August 26, 2005, but he did not return. Police informed the court that after expiry of his visa, Khan went into hiding and visited various places in India. He lived in Gwalior as 'Madho Singh, son of Ved Prakash', and even managed to get a forged marksheet, a driving licence and ration card.
Police say he rented the house of one Barkhoo Dhobi, where he allegedly sketched maps of prohibited defence organizations and sent them to Pakistan. Based on intelligence inputs, the then SHO of Inderganj police station A R Sharma raided the house and arrested Khan. A confidential defence map and other papers were seized from the house say police. Ali had moved high court a couple of months ago, admitting that he had overstayed in India but denying involvement in any espionage activity. He also said that during the trial, he was not heard properly.
As per police records, Khan got married in 2004. He has a son, two brothers and a sister. They are into farming.
