The recovery of two mobile phone batteries, a telephone number and a letter from suspected ISI agent Wakas Ahmed (24) on Monday has raised questions over security arrangements at Kanpur District Jail.

The state Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) had arrested Ahmed from Bithoor area on May 27, 2009.

On Monday, he was brought to the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Piyush Pande for a hearing in the case.

During frisking in the court premises, the police team recovered two mobile phone batteries and a letter from his possession. Thereafter, he was taken to the office of the Deputy Inspector General, Kanpur, where the police team found a telephone number hidden inside an amulet he was wearing.

While DIG has set up an inquiry in the matter, an ATS team led by Inspector TB Singh was rushed to Kanpur from Lucknow.

The DIG, B P Jogdand, said: “The letter, addressed to Ahmed’s wife Shabana, was written in Urdu but there was no objectionable content in it.”

In the letter, Ahmed had asked her to take care of their children and other family members. “If any undertrial wants to send a letter to his family members, he should seek the permission from jail authorities but carrying a letter in his pocket during the court hearing has raised concerns for us,” he said. The officer maintained that investigations are on to trace why he was carrying two mobile batteries.

Efforts are also being made to find whether anyone met him in the court premises.

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