Ex-army man held as a spy

Documents about army movements found

PUNE: The Pune police’s tryst with Pakistani spies continues: Less than a month after the disappearance of an ISI agent from a police station, a former army sepoy has been picked up on charges of spying by the anti-extortion cell. The suspect, Shailesh Anantrao Jadhav, 29, was arrested on Friday evening at the Pune railway station.

Police said the suspect is a friend of Saeed Ahmad Mohammed Desai, the ‘spy’ who went missing from a police station in the last week of January.

Police inspector Bhanupratap Barge said a trap was laid for Jadhav outside the railway station. “Several incriminating army documents detailing troop movements have been recovered from his possession.” Barge said emails had also been traced in which ISI handlers from across the border had assigned tasks for Jadhav.

DCP (crime) Anil Kumbhare said Jadhav is a resident of Kenjal, of Satara district. He is married and has a ten-month-old girl. He had served for eight years in the army as a sepoy before joining a private transport company in Satara as a manager.

In 2002, Jadhav was court-martialled for financial misappropriation to the tune of Rs1.5 lakh at Jodhpur. He was sent to jail for two years. In November 2006, Jadhav came across Desai at the Yerawada central prison and they became friends, Barge said.