UP ATS arrest ISI agent working at Indian Embassy
LUCKNOW, Feb 4: The police in Uttar Pradesh have arrested an Indian national working at the country’s embassy in Moscow for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s ISI, an official statement on Sunday said.The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) called Satendra Siwal, who was working as the IBSA (India Based Security Assistant) in the Indian Embassy in Moscow from 2021, for interrogation, the statement said.Siwal could not give satisfactory answers and confessed to his crime during “questioning”, it said.The ATS in its probe through electronic and physical surveillance found that he was involved in anti-India activities with the network of the ISI handlers, it said.The ATS said that he was providing important confidential information regarding the strategic activities of the Ministry of Defence, the MEA and the Indian military establishments for money. (PTI)
Ex-Cong MLA joins BJP in Gujarat
SURAT, Feb 4: Former Congress MLA Chirag Patel joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat on Sunday in the presence of state BJP chief CR Paatil.Patel, a first-time MLA from Khambat seat in Anand district, resigned as member of the state assembly on December 14, 2023 after citing disappointment with the working style of the Congress leadership and alleging groupism in the party’s state unit.In the December 2022 state assembly polls, Patel had defeated BJP’s Mayur Raval by a narrow margin of less than 4,000 votes.On Sunday, Patel joined the BJP along with a large number of his supporters at an event in Khambhat.State BJP chief Paatil, who is also an MP, inducted Patel into the party fold.In his speech, Paatil indicated that Patel might be the BJP’s candidate from Khambhat seat for the by-election, necessitated after his resignation. (PTI)