Varanasi, Jan 23 (IANS): The arrest of ISI agent M. Rashid from Chandauli district in Uttar Pradesh has led the investigators to several sleeping modules of terror outfits in Rajasthan and Mumbai.

According to ATS officials who arrested Rashid on Sunday, his mobile phone has several WhatsApp groups and some of the numbers are apparently of the sleeping module of terror groups.

"We are now trailing these numbers to other WhatsAapp groups and some of these numbers are from Jaipur, Jodhpur and Mumbai," said an official.

Rashid, who was taken on a three-day custodial remand, was questioned by eight companies together with Military Intelligence, IB and anti-terrorism squads of different states, apart from the Uttar Pradesh ATS.

He will be back in jail on Friday if the ATS does not seek further remand.

According to ATS officers, others involved with the ISI agent will be tracked soon. Information on this regard has additionally been shared with ATS and high security agencies of different states.

During interrogation, Rashid has mentioned that he did not earn enough by working on flexi-signboards and when he was offered substantial money by the handlers in Pakistan, he agreed to do the job.

His handlers had assured him that he would not be caught if he used WhatsApp to communicate with them or others in the business.

Rashid had also been talking rather frequently to a Pakistani journalist. Evidence of this has been found from his phone and the audio clips in it.

Rashid said that he met the Pakistani journalist when he went to Karachi in 2018. However, he said, the journalist did not ask for any confidential data, images or movies from him.