The spy is a strange man who frequently visits Sampath’s orchard. He’s secretly a member of the Atheist Society who’s determined to expose Sampath as a fraud. He listens to Sampath’s seemingly wise sayings and writes them down diligently in his notebook, constantly scheming against Sampath as he does so. The spy comes from an impoverished background, and he desperately wishes to overcome his past and become a famous, respected intellectual. He sees exposing Sampath as his ticket to fame, but he slowly becomes obsessed with Sampath and doubtful of his own motives as he continues his snooping. His fellow members of the Atheist Society notice this unhealthy obsession, but this only drives him further towards a growing madness. Ironically, he’s correct about Sampath not being a “real” holy man, but he’s also wrong in that Sampath seems genuinely connected to something spiritual or mysterious. The spy presumably dies at the end of the novel when he falls into Kulfi’s cooking pot, which he assumes must contain drugs intended for Sampath.