Srinagar, June 23: In a continuing effort to bust espionage rings operating in the country, Punjab police arrested two persons—an army personnel and his civilian associate—over their alleged links to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in Jammu, media reports said.
According to a police official, the arrested soldier has been identified as Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Dhariwal in Amritsar, who is currently serving in the Indian Army in Jammu. His associate, Sahil Masih, also hails from Dhariwal. The two were arrested during an intelligence-led operation, while allegedly attempting to hand over sensitive data.
As per Gaurav Yadav, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP), the preliminary investigation revealed that Gurpreet Singh was in direct contact with ISI operatives and is suspected to have shared sensitive and classified military information via pen drives and discs. Two mobile phones containing virtual numbers used for communication with ISI handlers have been recovered from the duo, media reports quoted Yadav as saying.
Maninder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural), said that Gurpreet Singh, who joined the Army in 2016, allegedly exploited his official position to gather and transmit military secrets. The operation is believed to have been facilitated by a Dubai-based drug trafficker named Arjan, originally from Dhariwal, who allegedly introduced Gurpreet to ISI operatives about five months ago.
Since then, Gurpreet reportedly engaged in systematic surveillance, data theft, and physical data drops at pre-decided locations. The accused is said to have received monetary compensation through a complex web of financial transactions routed via friends, relatives, and foreign associates to avoid detection.
Police believe that the key handler on the Pakistani side has been identified as Rana Javed. Further investigations are underway to uncover the broader espionage-terror network and identify other collaborators, according to the police.
A case has been registered at Lopoke Police Station in Amritsar under relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
