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Tarn Taran man held for spying for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor
The arrested accused has been identified as Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan, a resident of Mohalla Rodupur in Tarn Taran.
A man from the border district of Tarn Taran was arrested for allegedly sharing sensitive information about troop deployment and strategic locations during Operation Sindoor with Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs), police said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan, a resident of Mohalla Rodupur in Tarn Taran. He was arrested in a joint operation by counter-intelligence and Taran Taran police, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said.
A case under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 21 of the Official Secrets Act and Section 152 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at the police station city, Tarn Taran, the police officials said.
Yadav said that a preliminary investigation has revealed that Gagandeep was in direct contact with Pakistan-based Khalistani supporter Gopal Singh Chawla for the past five years, through whom he was introduced to PIOs.
“Investigations have also revealed that the accused had been sharing classified information, including troop deployments, strategic locations, and army movements during ‘Operation Sindoor’, posing a serious threat to national security, the DGP added.
He said that police teams have recovered two mobile devices from the accused’s possession containing sensitive intelligence that he shared with the PIOs, as well as the details of over 20 ISI contacts. The accused has also received payments from PIOs via Indian channels, he said.
The DGP said that thorough financial and technical investigations are underway to trace other linkages and establish the full scope of this espionage network.
Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police (SSP) Abhimanyu Rana said that acting on specific intelligence from CI, a police team arrested the accused from Muradpura in Tarn Taran, and seized his mobile devices.
“During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he was tasked by ISI handlers to gather sensitive information about deployment in border area, including railway stations and Amritsar city. He was also receiving monetary benefits for espionage activities,” the SSP added.
Further investigation is on and more arrests are likely in coming days, he added.
Earlier, police had arrested six persons in Punjab for allegedly spying for Pakistan.
Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih were arrested from Ajnala in Amritsar, while 31-year-old woman Guzala and Yameen Mohamad, both residents of Malerkotla, were also nabbed last month.
Guzala and Yameen had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for sharing classified information. Guzala had been in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, an official posted at the Pakistan High Commission. On May 13, India expelled Danish for allegedly indulging in espionage.
Two more persons — Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh — were also arrested by police from Gurdaspur for sharing sensitive military information with Pakistan’s ISI.
