A youth working at a hotel in Hyderabad’s Medchal area has been arrested for allegedly attempting to establish contact with individuals linked to Pakistan’s intelligence network, police said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Zayed Khan, a resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, had come to Hyderabad through a friend and was employed at a local hotel in the Medchal-Malkajgiri district. According to police, he had shown interest in joining a group supported by Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and tried to reach out to its members through Instagram.
Police officials said two alleged ISI sympathisers, identified as Habib and Rana Hussain, initiated contact with Khan after noticing his social media posts featuring toy guns. By frequently engaging with his content, the duo gained his trust. Investigators said the suspects eventually promised to provide him with real firearms.
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Following inputs about his online interactions, Telangana’s counter-intelligence unit placed Khan under surveillance. He was later arrested at his workplace. Police seized his mobile phone, which reportedly contained chats, screenshots and call records linked to the suspects. Two fake pistols were also recovered from his possession. A case has been registered and Khan was produced before a court, which remanded him to judicial custody at Cherlapalli jail for 14 days.
In a separate development, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested another individual accused of espionage and links to Pakistan-based handlers. The accused, Zafar Riaz, also known as Rizvi and a resident of Kolkata, was allegedly involved in passing sensitive security-related information to Pakistani intelligence officers as part of an anti-India conspiracy.
According to NIA officials, a look-out circular had already been issued against Riaz, and proceedings were underway to declare him a proclaimed offender before his arrest. Investigations revealed that he had frequently travelled between India and Pakistan since 2005. He is married to a Pakistani national, and his children are Pakistani citizens.
Riaz has been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Official Secrets Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Officials further stated that he had previously been convicted in a separate espionage case under the Indian Penal Code and the Official Secrets Act.
Authorities said investigations in both cases are ongoing, with agencies probing potential links and broader networks.
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