Amritsar: Two persons, including a woman, were arrested on the charges of spying and leaking defence-related information to an official posted at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi, the Punjab Police said Sunday.
The official working with the Pakistan High Commission, identified as Danish, was booked in this connection. Danish, a Pakistan national, was allegedly passing on information collected from the arrested duo to Pakistan government, ThePrint has learnt.
“We are verifying the status of diplomatic immunity extended to the accused. A call on whether he would be declared as persona non grata will be taken by Government of India,” a source aware of the details told ThePrint.
An FIR (First Information Report) has been filed by Malerkotla district police under Section 152, which deals with acts endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, which deals with acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India as well as offences and punishments related to spying.
Both the arrested accused, identified as Guzala and Yameen Mohammad, are in police custody till 12 May.
Guzala met Danish in the Pakistan High Commission when she went to apply for a visa in February, the sources aware of the case said, adding that the duo kept in touch over messaging platforms WhatsApp and Telegram.
Danish cultivated the woman as a source for sensitive information and she started providing him information about Army activities. “She has revealed to have gone to Pakistan High Commission earlier last month to share information,” another source privy to the case details told ThePrint
The module was busted Thursday when police arrested Guzala from Malerkotla, whose questioning led to the other suspect, Yameen, behind this espionage module, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said Sunday.
The arrest of the duo, both Malerkotla residents, came just a day after India declared to have carried out Operation Sindur to take out terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Guzala told interrogators that an official of the Pakistan High Commission had so far paid Rs 30,000 to her in exchange for sensitive information related to the Indian Army, the police said.
Police officials privy to the investigation said that evidence confirming the transfer of information has been found in the suspects’ mobile phones, which have been sent for forensic analysis. While Guzala has never been to Pakistan, Yameen has been to Pakistan in 2018 and 2022, they said.
The case comes to light less than a week after the Amritsar Rural Police nabbed two local residents, Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih, on charges of sharing photos and videos of troop movements and the entry and exit points of their camps The duo was allegedly paid Rs 10,000 for providing information.
Giving details of the case, Malerkotla Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gagan Ajit Singh said in a statement that Guzala was arrested for leaking sensitive information regarding Army movements.
“During questioning, the accused Guzala confessed to having shared the confidential information about Army activities with the Pakistani national posted at the High Commission in New Delhi. The accused further revealed that she was doing it in lieu of money, and the accused official has sent her Rs 30,000 in two transactions— Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000— via UPI,” the statement added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)