Rajasthan state government employee, with close link to ex-Congress minister, detained on suspicion of espionage for Pakistan

A Rajasthan state government employee was detained in Jaisalmer on suspicion of espionage for Pakistan, an official said on Thursday. Shakur Khan was detained on Wednesday night by an intelligence department team who were acting on security-related inputs. NDTV has quoted a source as saying that the 49-year-old state government employee had ties with a former minister in the ex-Ashok Gehlot-led government. 

Shakur Khan was reportedly working as a personal assistant to former minister Shale Mohammad under the Congress regime in Rajasthan. For the unversed, Shale Mohammad has been a two-time MLA and a minister. He has also fought four elections under the Ashok Gehlot government. 

However, as per officials, it is too early to link Shale Mohammad to with the espionage case as of now. 

It is important to note that Shakur Khan, who works in the district employment office, was found to have phone numbers associated with Pakistan stored on his device, the official said.

“There were inputs about Shakur Khan that he could be involved in spying for Pakistan. He was on surveillance following inputs and was detained last night,” the officer said. A joint interrogation was conducted in Jaisalmer, following which the team left for Jaipur with Khan.

Central agencies will interrogate him in Jaipur on Thursday. 

(With PTI inputs)

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