Army man arrested for espionage; was sending classified info to ISI, say police

The accused, Krunal Kumar Baria of Panchamahalas in Gujarat, was serving with the Indian Army at the Ferozepur Cantt; was lured by a Pakisatni woman intelligence officer to spy for the ISI

The Punjab Police State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, has arrested an army jawan for allegedly passing highly sensitive and classified information about the army to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Police said the accused was lured by a Pakistani woman intelligence officer to spy for the ISI. (Representational)

Krunal Kumar Baria of Panchamahalas in Gujarat was serving with the Indian Army at the Ferozepur Cantt. A case has been registered against him under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

“He was in touch with various Pak ISI agents through social media apps. Taking advantage of his deployment in the IT cell, he was passing highly sensitive and classified information about the army to his Pak-based handlers. In lieu of the information, he was paid money by Pak agencies,” said a spokesperson of the SSOC.

“During preliminary investigation, it has come to light that accused came in touch with a woman Pakistani intelligence officer, Sidra Khan, on Facebook in 2020 and on WhatsApp and other messaging and calling apps later. The accused was in touch with the woman on her two Pakistan mobile numbers and an Indian number,” said the spokesperson.

It has been revealed that the accused was lured by the woman intelligence officer to work for the ISI. During inspection of his mobile phone, many classified documents were found, the spokespersons said.

A case under Section 3, 4, 5, 9 of the Official Secrets Act and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against Baria at the SSOC police station in Amritsar.

Army authorities have been informed about the arrest. Investigations are being conducted to assess the actual amount of damage caused by the accused. It is also being ascertained if the accused was working alone or he has a team at his disposal, the spokesperson said.

Past incidents

In March, 2019, one Ram Kumar posted with MES, Jalandhar Cantt, was apprehended for sharing classified information with Pak Intelligence agencies. In January 2021, four army personnel from Gurdaspur district were arrested who were sharing classified documents through pen drives.