Pakistani man held for spying in 2006 in Gwalior being repatriated

A Pakistani national, who was caught for spying 15 years back in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, is being sent back to his country, over a year after he completed his jail term as the coronavirus pandemic delayed the repatriation process earlier, an official said on Saturday.

"Pakistani spy Abbas Ali was sent to Wagah border on Thursday under police security, from where he will be handed over to his country," Gwalior Central Jail's Manoj Kumar Sahu said.

Ali, 43, was caught for spying in March 2006 with objectionable documents from Nai Sadak area under Inderganj Police Station's jurisdiction of Gwalior.

"A court had sentenced him to 14 years of imprisonment, which completed on March 26 last year. But he could not be repatriated due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic," he said.

Since then, he was kept in a detention centre here and now sent to Wagah border, Sahu said, adding that Ali is scheduled to be handed over to Border Security Force (BSF) on Saturday.

According to officials, Ali is a resident of Rahim Yar town in Pakistan's Punjab province.