The Punjab Police have arrested an Indian national, who has been allegedly passing on crucial information to Pakistan’s Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) agency, and recovered photographs of restricted areas, army manuals and a hand-made sketch of the military installations.
Lovedeep Singh, a resident of Park Avenue on KotKapura Road in Faridkot district, who is employed as a clerk in the ECS Department at the Army cantonment there, was picked up by the Special Operations Cell (SSOC), sources said. Following his arrest, Lovedeep was produced in the court.
It was following a tip-off that the SSOC personnel apprehended him from the Canal bridge, Faridkot Bypass and a case under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act 120-B has been registered at the SSOC police station in Amritsar.
The preliminary questioning of the suspected spy revealed that he had been recruited by an ISI official some 18 months ago and was providing Islamabad with information on the movement of the Army units in Faridkot, Ferozpur and Fazilka sectors as well as updates on the construction of new bunkers on the Indian side of the border in exchange for money. And the photographs recovered from him showed the Army vehicles along with their formation signs, Army exercises and training patterns.
Meanwhile, the BSF on Wednesday seized seven packets of heroin and ammunition in the Amritsar sector of the India-Pakistan border.
BSF DIG, M F Farooqui said the troopers had observed the movements of some Pakistani smugglers in the BOP area of Raja Tal. And it was found that they were trying to insert some packets into the PVC pipes along the border fence. When challenged by the BSF, they opened fire on the troopers. “ We retaliated following which the smugglers ran towards the Pakistan territory. During search, the troops recovered seven packets of heroin, one pistol, one magazine and five rounds from the area. The value of the contraband seized has been put at Rs 35 crore in the international market,” he said.