CHANDIGARH: Around 50 people from various parts of Punjab are under the police scanner as their antecedents are being verified for suspected links to the arrested individuals.
Meanwhile, two more individuals from Gurdaspur have been arrested by Punjab Police for allegedly engaging in espionage for Pakistan, bringing the total number of arrests in the past three weeks to eight.
Sources revealed that the two individuals, Sukhpreet Singh of Adiyan village and Karanbir Singh of Chandu Wadala, were arrested from Gurdaspur. Police recovered three mobile phones and eight live cartridges of .30 bore from their possession.
Preliminary investigations confirmed both the accused were in direct contact with operatives of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and had transmitted sensitive information concerning the Indian Armed Forces.
A police official, on condition of anonymity, stated that these 50 individuals currently under scrutiny have not been detained. “Most of these individuals who have been questioned had claimed innocence about the secret work of the alleged spies but would only get a clean chit after thorough verification,” said a source.
The police have launched technical and human intelligence investigations to assess the nature of these individuals’ associations with the arrested suspects. “All these individuals who were in contact with the people allegedly involved in espionage are being verified to dig deep into their activities,” the source added.
Earlier, on May 11, the Punjab Police had arrested a 31-year-old woman, Guzala, and her associate Yameen Mohammad from Malerkotla for allegedly aiding a Pakistani official posted at the High Commission in Delhi. Police said the two were part of a broader espionage network operating in the region.
According to officials, Guzala had met Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and became his informant, allegedly sharing details about army activities in exchange for money. Danish instructed Yameen, a passport and visa agent, to transfer funds to Guzala. She reportedly received Rs 10,000 from Yameen and Rs 20,000 directly from Danish.
On May 12, Neeraj Kumar, a 28-year-old salesman from Pathankot, was arrested for allegedly issuing SIM cards to unauthorised individuals using fraudulent documentation.
The case came to light after Mohit Kumar of Shahpurkandi filed a complaint stating that he had purchased a SIM card from Neeraj in 2020, but later discovered that another SIM had been issued on his documents without his consent.
During investigation, it was revealed that the unauthorised SIM card had been active in Pakistan before being deactivated.
On May 13, Raqeeb Khan from Roorkee in Uttarakhand, who had been working as a tailor in a shop inside Bathinda Cantonment for the past two years, was arrested for allegedly spying for the neighbouring country.
Cantonment officials grew suspicious of his activities and reported him to the police. His phone has been seized and sent for forensic examination. He lived within the shop premises inside the cantonment area.
During interrogation, Raqeeb reportedly said that he had received calls and voice messages from Pakistani numbers in January this year but claimed he did not engage with them. He also admitted to possessing military documents left behind by Army personnel at his shop.
Officials disclosed that Raqeeb was the second civilian linked to espionage from that location, the first being Sunil Kumar, a cobbler and native of Samastipur, Bihar.
He was arrested on April 29. Kumar had been working at the Bathinda Cantonment since 2017 and had lived in Dhobiana Basti for over a decade. His brother and uncle are also cobblers in the same area.
“Kumar’s bank statement and property details are being analysed, and his mobile phone has also been sent for forensic analysis. The report is awaited,” said a police official.
On May 3, two men, Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih, were arrested in Amritsar for allegedly photographing and sharing sensitive details of army cantonments and airbases.
They were allegedly in contact with ISI through Harpreet Singh alias Pittu alias Happy, an inmate at Amritsar Central Jail. Police believe the duo had direct links with Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Sources confirmed that all of the arrested individuals were allegedly in constant contact with the ISI and passed information to the enemy, including details about troop movements and key strategic locations in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
