This Article is From May 01, 2010

Spy case: Madhuri Gupta sent to 14-day judicial custody

New Delhi:
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Indian diplomat Madhuri Gupta held on spying charges, who was produced in Tis Hazari Court in Delhi on Saturday, was sent to 14-day judicial custody. (Read: Woman Indian diplomat was spying for Pak)

The Court rejected police request of 2-day remand for Madhuri Gupta.

Gupta faces charges of spying for Pakistani Intelligence agencies. (In Pics: Women who were spies: The infamous stories)

She was arrested in Delhi on April 27, after being summoned from Pakistan on the pretext that she was needed for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meet in Thimphu.

The 53-year-old was posted at the Islamabad High Commission. The Indian Foreign Services B-Cadre diplomat was the Second Secretary for Press and Information at the highly-sensitive Islamabad embassy. She allegedly fell in love with Rana, her Pakistani handler, and began selling secrets to him. Sources say that in her confession to the police, she said she also wanted revenge - she had been overlooked for promotion, and was unhappy with her service conditions.

"We have reason to believe an official of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad had been passing info to Pakistan intelligence agencies. The matter is currently under investigation. The officer is cooperating with us," said Vishnu Prakash, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs.

Officials confirm that as a second secretary, Gupta's access to classified information may have been limited.

Gupta, who was known for her proficiency in Urdu, is accused of having shared the identity of undercover Indian officers, and of sharing details of their assignments.

To the Pakistanis who she worked for, however, she bragged that she had intimate access to the station chief of India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in Islamabad. RAW has investigated emails she sent, but say much of the information she gave, quoting or citing the RAW chief, is incorrect.  So far, RAW has no evidence against him.
Gupta allegedly told the Pakistanis she was working with that she had access to information from the Islamabad chief of Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). (Read: Madhuri had no access to classified material: Government)

Also read: Did Madhuri Gupta, diplomat-spy, convert to Islam?
Read: Mata Hari to Madhuri Gupta: The league of women spies
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