Bhubaneswar: A suspected ISI agent, Asif Ali, was presented before the JMFC Court in Balasore by the Meerut police.
Ali, currently lodged in Meerut Jail in Uttar Pradesh for another case, has been brought to Odisha to face trial for his alleged involvement in a spying racket linked to the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, a unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Asif Ali’s bail plea was rejected, and he has been transferred to Balasore Jail.
The case dates back to 2015 when Ishwar Behera, a contractual photographer at ITR Chandipur, was arrested for allegedly leaking classified documents and photographs to foreign agencies. Behera, a native of Kantipur in Mayurbhanj district, was sentenced to life imprisonment on February 11, 2021, for passing classified defence information in 2014.
Investigations revealed that Behera had close ties with Asif Ali, prompting Ali’s arrest in Meerut. Evidence showed Behera received money transfers from multiple locations, including Mumbai, Meerut, Ajmer, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Abu Dhabi in the Middle East.
