CHANDIGARH: Punjab police has apprehended two individuals for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani official posted at the High Commission in New Delhi. In two other cases, arms and ammunition carried by drones across the border have been recovered by joint operations launched by the Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab police.
Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav wrote on social media platform X that Malerkotla Police apprehended one accused based on "credible intelligence" for "leaking sensitive information regarding Indian army movements" to a Pakistan-based handler. He added that the second accused was identified during interrogation and taken into custody.
"Preliminary investigations reveals that the accused had been receiving payments thought online transactions in exchange for classified information," he wrote.
According to the post, the accused were in frequent contact with the handler and were involved in channeling funds to other local operatives.
Two mobile phones have been recovered and an FIR has been registered.
Yadav wrote, "This operation marks significant step in dismantling cross-border espionage networks and reinforces our commitment to national security. Further investigations will be undertaken as per established protocol with focus on tracing the financial trail and identifying additional operatives and linkages within the network."
Border Security Forces (BSF) and Punjab Police in a joint operation recovered weapons and ammunition from arms syndicates along the international border in Punjab. RDX, hand grenades and other ammunition were being sent via drones in Amritsar and Ferozepur sector.
In another post on X, Yadav wrote that the BSF and Amritsar Rural Police "successfully foiled a major drone based smuggling attempt."
"On May 10, acting swiftly on information from alert locals near village Chak Bala (under PS Ajnala), our teams recovered a consignment of arms and explosives from agriculture fields," he wrote.
He added that the seized material includes two .30 calibre pistols with four magazines, 30 live cartridges, two hand grenades, two lever detonators, remote control devices and charger, a command mechanism, eight batteries, a black box, and 972 grams of RDX.
"An FIR has been registered under the Explosive Substances Act, Arms Act, & Aircraft Act," the post read.
Sources said that the BSF and Punjab Police recovered this consignment near Sheikh Bhatti village near the Indo-Pak border in Amritsar sector based on intelligence inputs.
The consignment was wrapped in yellow plastic material and secured with a metal wire loop, and is believed to have been dropped by a drone. The BSF has handed it over to the state police for further action.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Amritsar (Rural) Maninder Singh said that a case has been registered, and investigations are ongoing.
In another joint operation, BSF and state police recovered a drone carrying a pistol (without barrel) and magazine besides a drone of DJI MAVIC Air 3-make from fields near Ganeshe Wale Jhugge village along the international border in Ferozepur sector.
The police have registered a case against unidentified persons under Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act and Sections 10, 11, 12 of the Aircraft Act at the Sadar police station.