Soldier held on spying charges

The soldier allegedly passed on information about movements of the Indian Army formations after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, to Pakistan, the official said

The Madhya Pradesh Police on Thursday arrested an Indian Army soldier on espionage charges, following inputs from intelligence agencies, a senior official in the security establishment said.

Representative image (AFP)

The soldier allegedly passed on information about movements of the Indian Army formations after the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, to Pakistan, the official said. The Indian Army was put on an alert in the wake of the Pulwama incident that claimed the lives of 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers. Several key formations were moved forward as India-Pakistan relations touched a new low.

“Our investigations suggest that he was in touch with Pakistan ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] for nearly a year,” the official from the Military Intelligence (MI) said.

The MI was the first to detect the soldier’s activity. “The Military Intelligence then collaborated with the central intelligence agencies further,” the official said.

“Information was passed to Pakistan through social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp,” a second official, attached to the defence ministry, said speaking on the condition of anonymity. The soldier, an infantryman, was posted in Mhow near Indore. Several training institutes of the Indian Army including the Army War College is located in Mhow.

With an increase in such cases, the three services — Navy, Air Force, Army — have formulated strict social media policies.