In a coordinated action by Military Intelligence and Police in northern Uttar Pradesh, one person was arrested for allegedly providing sensitive information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the city of Varanasi.
Uttar Pradesh police said the accused has been identified as Rashid Ahmad, a resident of Mughalsarai. He was arrested on the night of Sunday 19 January, said police.
“We got information that Ahmad had been sending photographs and videos of army bases and CRPF camps to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) across the border. We have recovered his phone through which he was sending the information,” Uttar Pradesh police said in a statement.
The statement further said the accused had visited Pakistan twice and met ISI agents there.
“An Initial investigation has revealed that he has been receiving money and gifts from Pakistani agents for providing them with information. Ahmad was detained under section 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war against the government) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” the statement read.
Police said Ahmad would be further questioned to extract information on what kind of data he had been sharing with his contacts in Pakistan.
In December 2019, seven Indian navy personnel were arrested for allegedly leaking sensitive information to Pakistani agents. The incident followed a strict ban on the use of smartphones and the internet on ships and in naval camps by the Indian Navy.
Tensions between the two South Asian neighbours have escalated after a deadly suicide attack on troops in the Pulwama district of the restive Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) had claimed responsibility for the incident, in which 40 Indian troops lost their lives.
India retaliated for what New Delhi claimed tacit support of terror groups operating on its soil, and bombed an alleged terror camp in Balakot.
Relations between India and Pakistan further worsened after New Delhi abrogated Article 370 in early August 2019 stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its special status and dividing it into two federally administered territories.