Moga Man Arrested for Spying
Punjab – In a joint operation with the Military Intelligence unit, the State Special Operations Cell busted an ISI-sponsored espionage ring by arresting Ravi Kumar, a resident of Dhaleke village in Moga district. He was working as a spy for Pakistani intelligence agencies.
It has been learnt that photographs of vital installations and movements of Army vehicles, handmade maps of restricted areas, photocopies of restricted training manuals of the Army and information regarding Army attacking formations was recovered from his possession.
On specific input by the Military Intelligence, a team led by Inspector Gurinderpal Singh arrested Ravi from the area falling under the Chattiwind police station in Amritsar. An FIR under Sections 3, 4, 5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act, and 120-B of the IPC has been registered on Thursday.
The preliminary questioning has revealed that he was recruited by a Pakistani official of the ISI through Facebook about seven months ago and he was providing them information about the movement of Army units, construction of new bunkers on the Indian side of the border, photographs of Army vehicles along with their formation signs and Army exercises and trainings.
His ISI handlers had sponsored his visit to Dubai between February 20 and 24 where he was briefed regarding tasks.
It has also come to light that Pakistan-based agencies operate a large number of fake Facebook accounts in the name of young girls who actively try to befriend unemployed youth and retired/serving officials in the armed forces and subsequently allure them into espionage activities. Investigations are being conducted to identify and track such fake accounts. Defence establishments are also being appraised regarding this new threat for necessary action at their end.
Further investigations revealed Ravi was in regular touch with Pakistan Intelligence Officers through mobile phones and internet and was provided funds routed through Dubai by money transfers.
