Two spies of India’s external intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) have been caught by German Intelligence and charged with espionage. The Indian couple are said to have collected information about the supporters of Khalistan movement and Kashmir conflict for Indian intelligence for several years.
The trial of two Indian citizens accused of spying on supporters of Khalistan movement and Kashmir conflict groups in Germany and sharing information with Indian intelligence agents began on Thursday at the Higher Regional Court in Frankfurt. Manmohan S., 50, and his wife, 51-year-old Kanwal Jit K., were charged with foreign secret service agent activity in Germany.
Starting in January 2015, Manmohan is accused of obtaining information on Kashmiri separatist and Sikh groups operating in Germany and passing it on to officials of India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), posted at the Indian Consulate in Frankfurt. From July 2017, his wife Kanwal Jit is also suspected of taking part in the intelligence gathering. In return for their service, the couple reportedly received a total of €7,200 ($7,974) from RAW.
On 18/11/2008 US intel informed RAW abt exact location of #LeT terrorist ship 30 nautical miles frm #Karachi port sailing towards #Mumbai which RAW passed onto IB. Surprisingly IB didnt pass on this highly specific info to Western Naval Command #2611attack https://t.co/nwqMWErJj6
— GreatGameIndia (@GreatGameIndia) November 26, 2019
About once a month, the defendants met with Indian intelligence officers in Frankfurt am Main. Two agents were disguised as consuls at the Indian Consulate General in Frankfurt, as the indictment states. At the meetings, which would have taken place mostly in the private apartments of the officers, initially only the accused 50-year-old passed information. His wife was joined later and participated in two of the eleven espionage cases.
Manmohan S. had lived with his wife in India near the border with Pakistan, he said on the first day of the trial. There he was politically committed to the interests of the religious community of the Sikh. He had been arrested by the Indian authorities and spent several months in prison, where it is suspected he became informer for RAW.
While the trial begins on Thursday, further hearings are scheduled up until December 12. If convicted, the couple may be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
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