JAIPUR: Two youngsters have been arrested from Bikaner and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan allegedly for working as spies for Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI. The operation that nabbed the culprits was jointly carried out by the Army, UP ATS, and Rajasthan Police, and was named Operation 'Desert Chase'.
The arrest of the two suspects was confirmed by the Additional Director General of Rajasthan Police Intelligence wing Umesh Mishra.
According to the sources, the names of the two arrested youths were Vikas and Chiman Lal. Vikas Kumar, a native of Jhunjhunu district, used to send sensitive information and photos on ammunition, Order of Battle, and Order of Military Fighting Formation to ISI.
Chiman Lal, who was supplying water tanker to Army's Mahajan Field Firing Range in Bikaner, used to take photographs of the sensitive area and give it to his handler in Pakistan.
In lieu of espionage activities, Vikas used to get money in his brother Hemant's bank account. Hemant is also being questioned in the entire case. Significantly, Vikas's father is a retired serviceman.
In August 2019, the Military Intelligence Team of Lucknow got a tip-off about a detective agent near Ganganagar who was providing sensitive military information to Pakistan. The person, identified as Vikas Kumar, was traced near an Army ammunition depot. This was reported to UP ATS in January 2020 and his activities were regularly monitored by intelligence agencies.
Last month, Rajasthan Police was informed about the spies following which a joint team was formed to arrest the duo.
The initial interrogation suggests that Vikas was honey-trapped through a fake account on Facebook with the name Anushka Chopra in March 2019. She lured Vikas into providing sensitive information about Army installations and in return received Rs 75,000 in his brother's account from Pakistan. At the same time, Vikas gave about Rs 9000 to Chiman Lal in exchange for information. The officials are also expecting to get more information from the duo.