Arrested ISI agent had entered Tripura to go to Punjab

An ISI agent, who was arrested in Agartala along with six Indian collaborators, has confessed during interrogation that he had entered Tripura via Bangladesh to go to Punjab to monitor army movement there and report to ISI headquarters, police said today.

"Now it is established that Munir Khan alias Omar Asraf, arrested on June 4 from the city outskirts, is an ISI agent. During interrogation, Asraf, who hails from Bhawalpur district in Pakistan, has confessed to entering India to watch the movement of military in Punjab and send reports to ISI headquarters in Pakistan," DIG (police control) Nepal Das said.

A team of Intelligence Bureau officials are currently interrogating the ISI agent and his collaborators, he said.

Asraf, who received his training from ISI at Multan and Bhawalpur cities in Pakistan, is also suspected to have links with Dawood Ibrahim gang. He was also assigned the task of networking among supporters and activists of Muslim fundamentalists in the North Eastern region, an IB official said.

The ISI agent arrived at Dhaka from Punjab province in Pakistan on June 25 by flight where he was received by a doctor at the Shahjalal airport, the official said.

From Bangladesh, the Pakistani national crossed over to Tripura where he was given full cooperation by his six Indian collaborators, police said.

A local court yesterday remanded Munir Khan and his six collaborators to 10-day police custody.