National Security Compromised: Man Arrested for Posing as BARC Scientist, Traded Secret Nuclear Blueprints for Years.
A major security breach and espionage scare have gripped India following the arrest of a 60-year-old man in Mumbai who allegedly posed as a scientist from the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and received crores in foreign funds for exchanging highly sensitive nuclear data.
The accused, identified as Akhtar Hussaini, a resident of Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, was apprehended last month by the Mumbai Police. Sources within the Crime Branch told NDTV on Monday that the investigation has uncovered a deep-rooted operation involving forgery, multiple identities, and potential links to foreign intelligence.
The Evidence: Maps, IDs, and Crores in Transactions
Upon his arrest, the police seized highly incriminating evidence from Hussaini. This included
- Over 10 maps and alleged data pertaining to nuclear weapons.
- Several fake passports, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards.
- A fake BARC ID card.
The forged documents revealed the extent of his deception, as he used different aliases, including Ali Raza Hussain and Alexander Palmer, across various identities. Following Akhtar’s arrest, his brother, Adil Hussaini, was also apprehended in Delhi, highlighting a coordinated operation.
The Money Trail: Foreign Funding Since 1995
Sources within the Mumbai Police Crime Branch revealed that the illegal operation involving the Hussaini brothers dates back decades.
- The brothers began receiving foreign funding in 1995.
- Initially, they were paid in lakhs, but after the year 2000, the payments escalated significantly into crores of rupees.
- Investigators strongly suspect that this vast sum of money was paid in exchange for secret blueprints and sensitive data related to BARC and other nuclear plants across India.
The ongoing investigation is now focused intensely on establishing a complete money trail. Police discovered a private bank account in Akhtar Hussaini’s name showing suspicious transactions and have requested complete transaction details from the bank to determine the exact amount and source of the funding. Furthermore, the two brothers reportedly closed several other bank accounts they had previously used, prompting the police to examine old account records to track the full financial picture.
Disguises, Deportation, and ISI Suspicions
Akhtar Hussaini’s history shows a pattern of elaborate disguise and suspicious foreign activity. The police suspect that the two brothers used their forged documents and multiple fake identities to travel abroad. This suspicion is compounded by the belief that the brothers may have visited Pakistan and could potentially have links to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Akhtar Hussaini’s deceptive activities are not new:
- In 2004, he was deported from Dubai after falsely claiming to be a “scientist possessing classified documents.”
- To facilitate his activities, he maintained old contacts even after selling an ancestral house in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, in 1996.
- His brother, Adil, reportedly facilitated the forgery, introducing Akhtar to Munazzil Khan, a Jharkhand resident who allegedly created two fake passports. These passports listed aliases like Hussaini Mohammad Adil and Nasimuddin Syed Adil Hussaini and bizarrely listed the address of the Jamshedpur house that had been sold nearly three decades prior.
The arrests of Akhtar and Adil Hussaini underscore a grave security vulnerability at a time when nuclear data and national assets face persistent threats from foreign espionage. The Mumbai Police and intelligence agencies are now working to determine the full extent of the classified information compromised and the precise foreign entities involved in this long-running, high-stakes operation.
