Thane court extends police custody of alleged Pakistani spy till Thursday

The police custody of 27-year-old Ravindra Verma –  who was arrested last week by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in an espionage case –  has been extended till Thursday.

Verma, who worked as a junior engineer at a private defence firm, is accused of sharing classified information related to 14 Indian Naval warships to Pakistan Intelligence Operatives (PIO).

On Monday, he was produced before Thane district court, where the ATS demanded an extension of his police custody by eight days. “But the judge extended his police custody by only three days,” said Verma’s defence lawyer, Advocate Rupali Shinde.

“My client has been cooperating with the ATS officers since November 2024. Had he been aware that he will be arrested by ATS, he would have taken anticipatory bail to seek relief from the court,” Shinde told mid-day.

“Maharashtra ATS officers claimed to have recovered a blue colour diary from Verma’s house. Only two pages of the palm-sized small diary are filled, and that too, with a few numbers. Verma had written these numbers to meet people for the next day, apparently for a job interview. No incriminating content is written in the diary. But the Maharashtra ATS, giving reference of the diary, sought to seek extension in his custody,” she added.

“My client, who seems to be innocent, was honey trapped by a Pakistani agent,” asserted the lawyer.

This article first appeared on Mid Day