Army officer nabbed in espionage racket

The police identified the army officer by his first name Paramjeet, a Naik, posted in the Agra Cantonment.

The police on Thursday said they have arrested an officer of the Indian Army in connection with the espionage racket busted on Tuesday, following the arrest of a 41-year-old man, Habib-ur-Rehman, from Rajasthan’s Pokhran who was allegedly passing classified documents to Pakistan’s ISI.

An officer of the Indian Army was arrested for handling classified documents to Pak's ISI. (Shutterstock/HT Archive)

The police identified the army officer by his first name Paramjeet, a Naik, posted in the Agra Cantonment.

“Some bank accounts of the two suspects have been seized and their analysis has shown that they were receiving money from their handlers based in the enemy country. We also recovered some sensitive documents related to the army from the 41-year-old spy, Habib-ur-Rehman. The army headquarters have authenticated the seized documents as classified and informed us that they contained highly secret information related to the army,” said Praveer Ranjan, special commissioner of police (crime).

A case under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) has been registered. Ranjan said Rehman is a contractor who supplied fruits and vegetables to the army base at Pokhran. During his visits to Sindh, Pakistan, to meet his relatives there, Rehman came in contact with agents of Pakistan ISI, the special commissioner said.

“Paramjeet was earlier posted at the Pokhran base camp. During his posting, Rehman asked him to supply sensitive documents to him. Rehman further passed on the classified papers to his handlers in Pakistan,” said Ranjan.