Lankan suspect tailed US consulate officials: investigators

9 May 2014 06:09 am - 8 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Sakir Hussain, the suspected ISI agent arrested in Chennai on April 29 had been tailing US consulate officials and looking for unoccupied buildings in the vicinity, probably for an attack, investigators said.

Police have included the names of two Pakistan diplomats in Colombo — Siddiqui, counsellor (visa) at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo, and his associate Boss, alias Shah — in the FIR. They allegedly engaged Hussain to gather information on vital installations in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Police said the 37-year-old Sri Lankan confessed to have been noting down the registration numbers of some US consulate officials and tracking their movements. "He said he had taken pictures of the consulate and e-mailed them to the Pakistan high commission officials in Colombo for which he was paid Rs 20,000 as initial payment. Since the photographs were not of high resolution, he was assigned to shoot again," an officer said. "He was also updating the Pakistan diplomats on some other activities in the city."

Tamil Nadu 'Q' branch sleuths have sought the help of cyber crime officials to open Hussain's email. Hussain said someone had hacked his account and hence he is unable to open the mail box with his password. Investigators said though they don't know the exact content of his mail box, cyber signatures showed that some files he mailed were downloaded into a computer at the Pakistan high commission in Colombo.

Soon after his arrest, Hussain had told his interrogators that he was hired by an official in the Pakistan high commission in Colombo to conduct reconnaissance of US consulate in Chennai and Israel consulate in Bangalore. After collecting details, the ISI was planning to send two men from Maldives to Chennai. He had also been assigned to arrange for their travel documents and hideouts, investigators said.

Police have also found that Hussain was earlier arrested in Trichy in a fake passport case. A magistrate court on Thursday sent Hussain, who was in police custody, to jail. Hussain's counsel Zainul Abideen said that he wasn't aware of Hussain's previous cases. "Only after I meet him can I confirm or deny the charges," he said. Assistant public prosecutor S Dhiraviaraj said magistrate S Siva Subramanian has remanded the suspect in judicial custody till May 13. (The Times Of India)

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Comments - 8

Jayanta Friday, 09 May 2014 06:32 AM

Time has come to understand the real friends and foes of SL.

npj Friday, 09 May 2014 07:02 AM

SL should sent those named diplomats back to Pakistan to avoid more chaos.

BuffaloaCitizen Friday, 09 May 2014 07:19 AM

Their are ones who overwhelmingly become friends for ulterior motives. Now we know why Pakistan has been a constant support for Sri Lanka.

GAMINI Friday, 09 May 2014 07:30 AM

This was on the card. very SAD though.

HellWelcomes Friday, 09 May 2014 08:38 AM

This is only a tip of the iceberg. Please take this matter seriously. Otherwise we will have to repent in future.

OMG Friday, 09 May 2014 09:09 AM

Blah Blah Blah sounds like the script of a cheap Tamil movie.

Sam Friday, 09 May 2014 09:48 AM

this can be a plot of US, the perpetrators of war to entangle all three countries in a suspicious and vicious circle of terror.

Calistus Jayatilleke Friday, 09 May 2014 10:04 AM

So, this is what our supposed to be great friends do: using our soil to destabilize neighbouring countries. One should carefully watch what the Chinese, who are resident in large numbers here, are upto.

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Lankan suspect tailed US consulate officials: investigators

Comments - 8

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