NEW DELHI, Dec 11: Arunachal Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested two Jammu & Kashmir residents on charges of espionage and alleged links with Pakistan-based handlers, after one was found collecting and transmitting sensitive military information on army and paramilitary movements.
According to the FIR filed by the officer-in-charge of Chimpu police station, the first accused, Nazir Ahmad Malik of Kupwara, was detained on November 22 from a rented house in Ganga village following “credible and actionable” intelligence. Police said Malik admitted to sharing troop deployment details and information on army installations with foreign handlers through encrypted Telegram channels.
Investigators claim he also revealed receiving instructions for placing explosives and carrying out arson to target security establishments. Two mobile phones seized from him were examined.
Based on Malik’s revelations, police arrested the second accused, Sabir Ahmed Mir, also from Kupwara, from Abotani Colony in Itanagar. A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said the arrests were made after “critical intelligence inputs” from outside the state, adding that their handler remains untraced and both are in judicial custody.
Deleted data retrieved from Mir’s phone has deepened suspicion of his involvement in a wider espionage network. Preliminary assessment suggests both men were coordinating with “hostile foreign operatives” as part of a larger plan to compromise national security and disturb public order.
The case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Official Secrets Act, and relevant state laws. (Agencies)
