Espionage network busted, man held for spying for ISI in Punjab

Mandeep Singh, 35, of Sirsa in Haryana, who is working at a stone crusher in Pathankot situated near the cantonment area, was passing sensitive information to his Pak-based handlers

Four days after an armyman was held for allegedly passing highly sensitive and classified information about the army to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Punjab Police State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, on Wednesday arrested another man for spying.

Punjab Police State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, on Wednesday arrested another man for spying.

Mandeep Singh, 35, of Sirsa in Haryana, who is working at a stone crusher in Pathankot situated near the cantonment area, was passing sensitive information to his Pak-based handlers. In lieu of the information, he was paid money, said a police spokesperson.

“During the preliminary investigation, it has come to light that the accused came in touch with Pakistan intelligence officer, Neha Singh through Facebook a year ago, who posed as an IT professional working in a Bengaluru-based IT unit of the Indian Army. After connecting through Facebook and Messenger, they shifted to WhatsApp and other private messaging and calling apps. The accused was in touch with the woman on a UK phone number and two Indian numbers, the spokesperson said.

“The accused was lured by the woman into espionage activities and he was tasked to gather and share information about Pathankot, Amritsar cantonments and Pathankot airbase,” the spokesperson said.

The accused ended up sharing some classified documents and photographs of the Cantt areas via encrypted apps. During preliminary inspection of his mobile phone, many classified documents and photographs were found, the spokesperson added.

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