http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-fourmonth-watch-indian-diplomat-held-for-spying-for-pak/612265/2Posted:
Wednesday, Apr 28, 2010 at 0155 hrs
On April 22, inside a South Block chamber of the Ministry of External Affairs, officials confronted a serving diplomat with evidence that strongly suggested she was a Pakistani spy.
A week earlier, MEA officials “at the highest level” were informed by the Intelligence Bureau that they were convinced that Madhuri Gupta, an IFS-B grade officer posted as a translator in the press unit of the Indian mission in Islamabad, was involved in espionage operations.
As the counter-intelligence operation played out, Gupta was called to New Delhi ostensibly for preparatory work on the SAARC summit but was politely told by IB officials that her spy game since September 2008 was up.
Gupta, in the presence of MEA officials, was then shown some evidence meticulously collected by the surveillance mounted on her over a four-month period in Islamabad. She broke down and confessed, sources said.
top intelligence official told The Indian Express that Gupta’s recruitment as a mole was a “major achievement” for Pakistani intelligence.
Reports compiled so far indicate that Gupta “frequently” handed over Indian High Commission documents and reports — probably prepared on a weekly or fortnightly basis by her — to a particular “handler” of the Pakistani intelligence.
The two would meet at pre-fixed destinations including safehouses identified by Indian agencies.
What officials described as “overwhelming evidence” against Gupta include telephone transcripts between her and her Pak handler and documents recovered from her New Delhi residence in New Krishna Park.
The key to the case will be contents of Gupta’s office computer, which has been sealed and carried from Islamabad and its hard disk is currently being cloned and analyzed by the Special Branch of the Delhi Police, which booked the OSA case.
MEA officials familiar with Gupta’s interrogation say that she had previous postings in Kuala Lumpur and Baghdad and speaks fluent Urdu and Persian. She is said to have admitted to frequent meetings with her handler but denied any regular monetary compensation being paid to her. She has also denied knowledge of any other official of the Indian mission being recruited along with her.
Besides the contents of the hard disk, Gupta’s bank accounts are under scrutiny with Indian agencies expected to make an assessment of the damage done by the 18-month-long spy scandal over the next few days.
Shubhajit Roy adds from Thimphu: The Gupta spy scandal took centrestage this afternoon since it broke before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets his Pak counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani. The meeting is likely to happen sometime tomorrow, sources said.
With Foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and Joint secretary (Pakistan) Y K Sinha, the decision was quick, and official spokesperson Vishnu Prakash read out a statement confirming the incident. “‘We have reason to believe that an official in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad has been passing information to the Pakistani intelligence agencies. The matter is currently under investigation. The official is cooperating with our investigations and inquiries,” he said.
The Indian Express correspondent had met Gupta in Islamabad in May 2008 during the last composite dialogue talks. She had introduced herself as the Urdu translator for the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and played part host at a do hosted by the Indian High Commissioner for the media.
