2019 Navy Espionage case: Altaf Ghanchi and 4 others held in Godhra

Godhra: Gujarat police and Andhra Pradesh Police’s counter intelligence squad teams raided Muslim areas of Godhra and held five suspected accused, in espionage case for conveying secret information of Indian Navy to Pakistan.

In the espionage case, some mobile numbers of Godhra were noticed during the investigation by Andhra Pradesh counter intelligence squad. The police had raided five to six places in various areas of Godhra city B division police station. There is one female among the five accused held by police. The police had seized the mobile phones and sim-cards of the accused and conducted an inquiry. However, the names of the people involved in this case were kept confidential by the police.

Today, the police have nabbed one of the accused named Altaf Ghanchi and produced him before Godhra court.The statements of other six persons were also taken.

In December 2019, counter intelligence of Andhra Pradesh Police had busted an espionage racket and arrested a total 11 sailors for passing sensitive information such as location of naval ships and submarines to a Pakistani handler.

The unknown men or women were ‘honey-trapping’ the accused sailors through Facebook and getting the sensitive pictures and videos of their locations, as per the police.

NIA took over this case and arrested a 37-year old merchant from Godhra named Imran Giteli for alleged links with ISI in Pakistan and depositing money into the accounts of accused Indian navy sailors. NIA had filed a charge sheet against 14 others in addition to Imran Giteli in that case. Imran Giteli’s brother Anas Giteli was also arrested by Uttar Pradesh ATS for conveying secret information about the Indian Army and his links with Pakistan. DeshGujarat