Police nabbed 22-year-old Idgul alias Abbas Khan from Kolkata based on a complaint by CSL that he had used a fake identification document to work under a sub-contractor

KOCHI: Police are collecting more details about the Pakistan links of the Afghan national who was caught working at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) where Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-1 (IAC-1) is being built and tested in Kochi. Though the Kochi city police team is yet to get any evidence on the espionage angle behind the Afghan citizen's presence inside the highly secure area of CSL, they have decided to conduct a detailed probe.

"During interrogation, the accused admitted that his family lived in Pakistan for several years. He admitted that he had stayed with his family in several parts of Pakistan. He claims his family was in Pakistan when he was eight years old. They later shifted to Afghanistan when he was a teenager. He doesn't remember the exact year. They mostly stayed in the Karachi area. We have to conduct a detailed probe based on his statement," a senior police officer said.

Police nabbed 22-year-old Idgul alias Abbas Khan from Kolkata based on a complaint by CSL that he had used a fake identification document to work under a sub-contractor. A detailed investigation found that Idgul was an Afghan citizen who came to India with a three-month medical visa in June 2019. He was born in Afghanistan even though his mother was from Assam who migrated to Afghanistan several years back. When his visa term ended, he managed to get a fake school transfer certificate using which he received an Aadhaar card. He came to Kochi with his uncles and joined CSL under a sub-contractor.

Though Idgul was in the custody of police for eight days, he was admitted to a hospital for four days due to health issues. He was also questioned by central agencies including NIA and IB. He was sent back to judicial custody on Monday. Police will be questioning him in detail in the coming days. The NIA is also conducting a preliminary probe into the incident. His mobile phones are being analysed to ascertain his contact list and whether any information on the activities in CSL was passed on to anyone.

A police team will leave for Assam where he was staying before arriving in Kochi. "We have to collect evidence especially about people who assisted him in getting the fake school document using which he obtained the Aadhaar card," the officer added. As of now, police have only registered a case of visa violation against the accused.