Baha\'i Spy Ring Busted in India

This article was published by the Indian daily the Hindustan Times in July 2006. It initially created quite a stir on USENET and various other online forums, with the Baha\'is defensive or otherwise wholesale denying the story\'s entire validity. Two follow-ups to the story appeared later on in hindu.com and webindia, which have been appended below with their links. An interpolated piece claiming to be a retraction of the story by the Hindustan Times was later posted on the USENET group talk.religion.bahai by Baha\'i Susan Maneck in September of that year. However the so-called retracted item by Maneck was soon proven to be a forgery and fake by Susan Maneck herself, with the HINDUSTAN TIMES denying it had ever published such a retraction. The New Delhi police and the clerks office of the Indian Supreme Court were subsequently contacted by several individuals, including journalists, for comment. But they have thus far provided no further comment either to deny or to confirm the on-going nature of this story - ed.

HINDUSTAN TIMES


SPY RING BUSTED? - Bahai trustees accused of embezzling funds

NAZIYA Alvi
New Delhi

IN A complaint filed in a city court, a few trustees of the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha’is of India have been accused of espionage by their colleagues. Apparently, they were supplying classified documents from India\'s defense establishments to Israeli and Iranian spying agencies and making huge amounts in foreign currency. Taking cognisance of the complaint, the additional chief metropolitan magistrate, Kamini Lau, has directed the Economic Offence Wing Cell to immediately register a case against the accused persons. The court has also asked the cell to file a status report with it by August 10.

As per the allegations in the complaint, one of the accused, N.K. Bhudhiraja, general manager of finance with the spiritual organization, forged an identity card and of fixed his photograph on an armed forces concessions form for fee baggage allowance, which is needed for military officials travelling to places in India and abroad. Apparently, he also used to travel under the fictitious name of \'Captain S. Budhiraja\' of the air force station at Yelahanka.

Apparently, the accused, by using such impersonations and forgery managed to clandestinely penetrate into the prohibited defense establishment of the country and get hold of classified documents. In turn, he supplied the sensitive documents to spying agencies in Israel and Iran in return of foreign currency.

The complaint has also alleged that the stamp of the air force station at Yelahanka had been forged with some amount of accuracy and was being used by the accused trustees of the \'spiritual assembly\'.

The complaint also alleges that another accused, Payam Shoghi, also a trustee with the society, is in truth an Iranian national. He fraudulently got his name inserted in the ration card of another
accused and also got it attested.

On the basis of the ration card he managed to procure an Indian passport. The complaint also states that such passports have been issued to a number of other foreigners by the accused people through a similar fashion of forgery.

The counsel of three complainants Swadesh Kumar, Khub Singh and Gulshan Kumar told the court that they have definitive documentary evidence to prove that the accused were, in addition to the other violations, involved in a large scale Hawala transaction network.

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