NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on allegations of espionage by sharing sensitive information with Pakistan Intelligence Officers (PIOs), officials said on Monday.
They said that ASI Moti Ram Jat was arrested from Delhi after he was found to be allegedly involved in passing on classified information to PIOs for nearly two years in exchange of pecuniary benefits.
Following his arrest, the CRPF ASI was produced before a special court, which sent him to the NIA custody till June 6, the officials said.
Meanwhile, after his arrest the CRPF has dismissed him from service. “In the course of close monitoring of social media activity by CRPF personnel, in coordination with central agencies, one individual was found to have acted in violation of established norms and protocols,” a NIA officer said.
Ram’s arrest came two days after a contractual health worker from Gujarat’s Kutch district was held for allegedly sharing sensitive information about military establishments with a Pakistani intelligence operative.
The arrest has also come in the backdrop of heightened tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, which left 26 persons dead and ‘Operation Sindoor’ by Indian armed forces.
In two weeks, at least 14 persons have been arrested across the country on allegations of spying for Pakistan and leaking sensitive information about Operation Sindoor and the Indian military operation.
Confirming the dismissal of the ASI, sources in the CRPF said, the jawan was posted in Kashmir until he came under the scanner of senior officers keeping a tab on his social media usage. He was questioned by CRPF officers and officials from central intelligence agencies before he was handed over to the NIA.