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Chandigarh court convicts Pak national for espionage

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Express News Service

Posted: Mar 10, 2009 at 0033 hrs IST

Chandigah A 27-year-old Pakistani national, arrested by the police in February 2003 on charges of spying, was convicted by a lower court on Monday. The accused Abid Mehmood was convicted under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, Foreigners Act and the IPC. Mehmood's accomplice Abdul Wahid, an Indian national, was also convicted. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on Tuesday.

Mehmood was accused of possessing sensitive information, pertaining to military deployment and battle formations in the country. The police said Mehmood was in possession of Orders of Battle of the Western Command, Northern Command, Southern Command and Eastern Command. A list of 30 infantry battalions, armoured units, artillery regiments, air defence regiments, rocket and missile units located in Chandimandir and Ambala, along with the names of their commanding officers, was seized from Mehmood by the police.

In the chargesheet, the police submitted before the court that Mehmood was living in India illegally under the name of Nihal Chauhan, a resident of Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. A fake voter identity card and a forged sports certificate were also recovered from him. One camera was also seized from his rented room in Burail village.

After his arrest, Mehmood confessed to the police of conceding two handmade maps of the Western Command and a photocopy regarding deployment of Army officers in different units of the Northern Command to Pakistani authorities. During the course of the trial, the prosecution produced 39 witnesses to prove the case.

I am innocent: Abid
Claiming to be a software engineer, who went to Nepal as a tourist, Abid Mehmood said he had no idea how he landed in India. Exhausted with the lengthy trial, which lasted for six years, Mehmood simply said: "I am no spy." He added that he hails from Liakatpur district in Pakistan, where his elder brother and parents still live.

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