Danish dangled visa carrot to lure Guzala: Police probe

A senior Punjab Police officer probing the espionage case in which a Malerkotla resident Guzala has been arrested said that the investigations have revealed that the woman and Pakistan High Commission officer Danish alias Ehsan-ur-Rahim acted as "more than a friend."

- Ravinder Vasudeva

CHANDIGARH: A senior Punjab Police officer probing the espionage case in which a Malerkotla resident Guzala has been arrested said that the investigations have revealed that the woman and Pakistan High Commission officer Danish alias Ehsan-ur-Rahim acted as "more than a friend."

Danish, who has been declared persona non grata by India, was in the thick of running a spying web in India and the police probe in the Malerkotla case has revealed that he used to lure the persons by offering help in securing Pakistan visas and then would cultivate them as his espionage assets.

In the case of Guzala, a widow, the Punjab Police investigation has revealed that Danish used to 'honey-trap' women to create them as espionage assets.

According to a Punjab Police investigation, accessed exclusively by HT, Guzala has confessed to working for Danish and has revealed that she had gone to the Pakistan High Commission on February 2 this year to get visas for her, her aunt Nasreen Bano and two other relatives when she came in contact with the official.

"The next day, my aunt went back to the embassy to get an idea as to when our visas will be granted. She was told that only my visa had been rejected from the group. We came back to Malerkotla. However, on February 27, I got a text on my WhatsApp from a person, who introduced himself as Danish, the visa officer at Pakistan High Commission, who had conducted my visa interview," Guzala told police.

The woman said that she was in regular touch with Danish thereafter.