Army jawan held by Punjab police on spying charges, was ‘introduced to ISI by Dubai-based smuggler'
Gurpreet, who joined the Army in 2016, was posted in Jammu with the Sikh regiment, and was at his native place on a month's leave at the time of his arrest.
The arrest was made Saturday by Amritsar Rural police, who took the Army jawan identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Gopy Fauji, along with his aide, Sahil Masih, into custody.
New Delhi: Police in Punjab have arrested a serving Army jawan for allegedly sharing sensitive information with operatives of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), state police chief Gaurav Yadav said Sunday.
Both Gurpreet and Sahil belong to Dhariwal village in Amritsar and were introduced to operatives of the ISI around five months back by a Dubai-based drug smuggler from the same town, DGP Yadav said in a statement Sunday.
He added that the probe conducted so far has established that Gurpreet was in direct contact with ISI and is suspected of sharing sensitive and confidential information via pen drives. Additionally, he said that two mobile phones containing virtual numbers allegedly used for communication with ISI handlers have also been recovered from the accused.
The key ISI handler involved has been identified as Rana Javed, DGP Yadav said.
Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Maninder Singh said Gurpreet systematically exploited his official position to collect classified information, which he then allegedly passed on to his handlers via pen drives and discs.
'The espionage network was reportedly facilitated by an acquaintance identified as Arjan, a Dubai-based drug trafficker from Dhariwal, who introduced Gurpreet to ISI operatives five months ago, he said, while adding that since then, Gurpreet has actively engaged in the unauthorised collection and relay of sensitive military data to the ISI using pre-decided drop locations,' a Punjab Police spokesperson said Sunday.
SSP Singh added that Gurpreet had been receiving money from ISI operatives in exchange for classified information. The funds, he said, were deposited into the bank accounts of Gurpreet's friends, relatives, and foreign associates through credit to avoid detection.
According to an FIR filed by Amritsar Rural district police, the duo was arrested on a tip-off from a source who alerted them to Gurpreet's suspicious activities.
'Even today, these two (accused) were sitting on the newly built Bharat Mala National Highway in Kaler village and making some plan. If they are raided now, they can be caught, and their phones, documents, and other belongings can be searched, allowing a significant amount of information to be obtained from them. Among them, information about the virtual/WhatsApp and money transactions of the agents of Pakistan's ISI can be found,' a police officer documented in the report that formed the basis of the FIR.
The duo has been booked at Lopoke police station in Amritsar Rural under relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act and section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) which deals with common intention in criminal acts.
ThePrint reached Army spokesperson Colonel Nishant Arvind for comment via calls and WhatsApp messages but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Tarn Taran man held for 'espionage', 'shared' sensitive info with ISI on army movements during Op Sindoor
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