Pakistan spy gave over 10 lakh to Poddar

HYDERABAD: The City police, investigating the role of a Naik Subedar in leaking Army secrets to a Pakistani spy, have established that she is an agent of a terror outfit and transferred over `10 lakh into his account in return for sensitive information.

In his confessional statement, Naik Subedar Patan Kumar Poddar told police he came into contact with one Anuskha Agarwal, supposedly a resident of Elite Chowk area in Jhansi last year, on Facebook.

She had informed him that her father was a retired Wing Commander of the IAF and was running an NGO in Jhansi. She had expressed her desire to meet him but it did not materialise.

According to Poddar, Anushka had initially asked him to work for her NGO for Rs 10,000-15,000 per month. 'Last July, she transferred Rs 9,000 into my account at the SBI's Mangalbari branch, Malda. She sent me an online form,' Patan told the police.

'I did as per Anushka's instructions. She asked me photos of missile units and storage units and official documents about movement of units. I mailed her the information. I purchased a second-hand laptop from a friend. I used it for internet browsing and chatting with Anushka.

Later, I handed over the laptop to my friend Pradeep Kumar. I once received a payment of `15,000 from Anushka. I gave her details about 12 units deployed along the Western border. I gave her that information over the phone. I also chatted with her on Facebook Messenger as instructed by her.

Later, she asked me to create a new email ID and also open a new bank account in another name for further transactions,' Patan revealed. Patan also told the police Anushka had offered him a London jaunt.

He received `10,000 and `20,000 this year in two transactions. According to the police, the woman created a fake account on the popular social networking site Facebook and operated it through her smart phones from Pakistan.

The Central Crime Station (CCS) police had on Wednesday arrested Naik Subedar Patan Kumar Poddar on charges of violating the provisions of the Official Secrets Act.

The police have now written to the SBI branch manager in Malda seeking details of Patan's transactions. 'We have specific information that the Pakistani woman has transferred over `10 lakh to Poddar's account,' said a senior official.

Police write to fb for info on anushka

Police verified data on Poddar's mobile and it seems, he frequently spoke to the Pakistani. They have also written to FB for details of Anushka Agarwal's account, the suspected woman.