In 2014, Arun Selvaraj, a Sri Lankan nationwide, was apprehended by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for espionage actions. It was revealed that he was engaged in transmitting delicate data, together with pictures and movies of strategic installations in South India, to a contact working on the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo. The case was initially registered by Tamil Nadu Police in 2012 and later taken over by NIA, which led to Arun Selvaraj’s arrest in 2014. His involvement in espionage actions was additional confirmed when NIA acknowledged that he had been making ready for a terror act.
Legal Proceedings and Conviction
A particular NIA court docket, in March 2020, convicted Arun Selvaraj on all expenses, ensuing in a five-year rigorous imprisonment time period and a nice of Rs 20,000. This marked a major growth in the case, shedding mild on the extent of espionage actions carried out by Arun Selvaraj and his associates.
Recent experiences have raised eyebrows as Arun Selvaraj was noticed socialising with common music director Santhosh Narayanan in Jaffna through the music occasion. It is value noting that this occasion confronted objections from some Tamil teams in Sri Lanka. Santhosh Narayanan was presupposed to carry out on the ‘Yaazh Gaanam’ live performance alongside Tamil diaspora artists from around the globe. This connection has additional deepened the intrigue surrounding the occasion.
Arun Selvaraj’s arrest in 2014 got here on account of data supplied by Thamim Ansari, a local of Athirampattinam in Thanjavur district who can also be suspected of spying for Pakistan. Both have been allegedly reporting to Amir Zubair Siddiqui, a Pakistan diplomat posted on the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo. Arun Selvaraj used a faux passport figuring out him as Sivagaminathan Saravanamuthu and operated an occasion administration agency in Chennai whereas finishing up covert actions. The NIA charged them as accused 1 and 5, respectively, in the espionage ring, which included people recognized as Boss, Haji, and Vineet, who have been linked to Pakistan’s ISI company.
Espionage Details
The NIA asserted that the group conspired to assemble categorised data, covertly capturing photos and movies of naval bases in Nagapattinam and Indian Coast Guard services in Chennai. Their actions additionally prolonged to the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington and different strategically delicate Indian authorities places of work. These visuals have been discreetly dispatched to their handler on the Pakistan mission. Upon Arun Selvaraj’s arrest, NIA seized a wide range of incriminating proof from his residence, together with a laptop computer, onerous discs, pen drives, micro-tape cassettes, and each Indian and Sri Lankan passports. Interrogation revealed that he had despatched aerial photographs of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam.
The trial in opposition to Thamim Ansari is ongoing, and the investigation continues regarding the absconding accused, Mohammed Anver Mohammed Siraj Ali, a local of Sri Lanka, together with Pakistani intelligence officer Amir Zubair Siddique and different potential collaborators. Arun Selvaraj’s deportation to Sri Lanka, following his jail time period, has not diminished the vigilance of a number of intelligence agencies, as the first determine behind the espionage ring stays at giant.
The current Tamil music occasion in Jaffna has delivered to the forefront the continued investigation into Arun Selvaraj’s espionage actions and his connection to a bigger community of spies working on behalf of Pakistan. Intelligence agencies stay vigilant in their efforts to apprehend the mastermind behind this covert operation, highlighting the crucial function of worldwide cooperation in countering espionage threats.
