BS News Agency, Kolkata: Kolkata man married to Pak woman arrested for spying for Pakistan intel
The NIA has arrested Kolkata resident Zafar Riaz alias Rizvi for allegedly spying for Pakistan Intelligence Officers. The agency says the case points to a wider espionage network linked to an anti-India terror conspiracy. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a man from Kolkata for allegedly spying for Pakistan.
The accused has been booked under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with the Official Secrets Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In a case registered by the NIA’s Delhi unit in December 2025, the agency found that he was allegedly contacted and cultivated by PIOs to carry out espionage activities in India “in lieu of financial inducements and the promise of Pakistani citizenship”.
“To facilitate other espionage and terror operatives, the accused had provided one-time passwords (OTPs) of Indian telecom mobile numbers to a PIO to help him activate WhatsApp accounts. The alleged PIO had used these accounts to secretly communicate with one Moti Ram Jat, also an accused in the instant case. Jat was also engaged in conveying secret security-related information to the PIO,” said the agency, adding that further investigations were under way to identity others involved in the racket.
In May 2025, the NIA conducted searches in 15 locations in Delhi, Maharashtra (Mumbai), Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Assam and West Bengal. The same month, it arrested the then Central Reserve Police Force Assistant Sub Inspector Moti Ram Jat, who was dismissed from service. He had allegedly been passing on information to PIOs since 2023.
According to the NIA, the accused, identified as Zafar Riaz alias Rizvi, used to provide OTPs of Indian telecom numbers to a Pakistani Intelligence Officer (PIO) for activating WhatsApp accounts. These accounts were allegedly used to communicate with another suspect, identified as Motiram Jat, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer involved in espionage activities. About a year ago, Jat was arrested and subsequently dismissed from service. The NIA claimed that Jat was also involved in passing on classified information to the PIO.
In a statement released by the NIA, the agency said that Riaz had been travelling frequently to Pakistan since 2005. The investigation revealed that during one such visit, he was allegedly contacted and cultivated by PIOs to carry out espionage activities in India in exchange for monetary benefits and a promise of Pakistani citizenship.
The agency further stated that Riaz had earlier been convicted in an espionage case under the IPC and the Official Secrets Act. The NIA had also issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him, and proceedings were underway to declare him a proclaimed offender. It was also learnt that Riaz had married a Pakistani woman and that their children are Pakistani citizens.
Investigators are currently interrogating Riaz to ascertain who else may be involved in the espionage network and what information may have been passed on to Pakistan so far. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Kolkata resident for allegedly spying for Pakistan Intelligence Officers (PIOs) and passing confidential security-related information as part of an anti-India terror conspiracy.
The accused, Zafar Riaz alias Rizvi, was arrested after authorities had issued a Look-Out Circular against him. Proceedings were also underway to declare him a Proclaimed Offender (PO) when the agency took him into custody.