A 30-year-old suspected spy arrested for allegedly sending sensitive information to his handlers in Pakistan was on Saturday brought here by the Punjab police on transit remand from Jammu.
Accused Sajjad was brought from Jammu on transit remand for further questioning him, a police officer said. Sajjad was arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police on February 2.
“A local court today remanded him to police custody till February 18,” a police officer said.
The accused will now be questioned regarding his association with another alleged spy Irshad who was arrested by Punjab police on the charges of spying on February 2. Irshad, a resident of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, was working as a labourer at Mamoon Cantonment in Pathankot.
Irshad was reportedly caught making calls to Pakistan which was traced by intelligence agencies. He was booked under the Official Secrets Act and a case was registered at Shahpur Kandi in Pathankot. Police investigation revealed that Irshad was allegedly being handled by Sajjad.
After collecting sensitive information, Irshad allegedly used to pass it on to Sajjad.
When Irshad was arrested, a smart phone was recovered from his possession containing pictures of vital installations and sensitive equipment in the cantonment area.
Sajjad allegedly used to collect sensitive information from Irshad and then passed them to his Pakistani handlers who could be ISI, police said.
Both Sajjad and Irshad would be jointly interrogated by investigating agencies in order to find out whether Pakistan’s ISI was operating a spy racket in the state.
Police had so far arrested two more persons in connection with this case. A Moga resident Sandeep Malhi was arrested by Pathankot police for his alleged association with Irshad.
Sandeep has been booked under the Official Secrets Act, police further informed.
Police investigation revealed that Sandeep had allegedly been in touch with Irshad and his handler Sajjad and they even used to meet each other.
Earlier, a Malerkotla based mobile shop owner was arrested for allegedly selling mobile SIM card to Irshad.
- PTI
