Punjab Police arrest man in Pathankot espionage case over sharing Army movement data

Punjab Police in Pathankot have uncovered a suspected espionage network and arrested a man accused of passing information related to the movement of Indian Army and paramilitary personnel to handlers operating from Pakistan, officials said.

Surveillance setup near highway

The arrested individual was identified as Baljit Singh alias Bittu, a resident of Chakk Dhariwal village. According to police, Singh had set up a CCTV camera at a shop located near a bridge on the Pathankot-Jammu section of National Highway-44 with the objective of tracking military and paramilitary movement in the area.

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Senior police officer Daljinder Singh Dhillon said “the footage captured through the surveillance system was being transmitted electronically to operatives based in Pakistan and other overseas locations.”

During interrogation, Singh allegedly admitted that he had installed an internet-enabled CCTV camera near Sujanpur along the highway in January this year. Police further stated he had also been receiving instructions from an unidentified individual based in Dubai and was paid Rs 40,000 for the activity.

Officials recovered a CCTV camera and an internet WiFi router from his possession.

Case registered against four

The action followed intelligence inputs regarding suspicious activities taking place along the Pathankot-Jammu highway stretch. Subsequently, Sujanpur police registered a case against four people, including Singh.

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The others named in the case are Vikramjit Singh alias Vikka, Balwinder Singh alias Vicky and Taranpreet Singh alias Tannu. Police alleged that the accused were involved in criminal as well as anti-national activities.

Authorities said a detailed report has already been forwarded to senior officials, while investigations are continuing to establish possible cross-border connections and identify the source of funding allegedly used by the network. Raids are being conducted to apprehend the remaining accused, reported NDTV.

Link to earlier espionage busts

The development comes weeks after Punjab Police dismantled two alleged espionage modules reportedly backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Investigators had then recovered China-made solar-powered CCTV systems allegedly being used to send live visuals of sensitive military sites to handlers based in Pakistan.

"These Chinese cameras are ideal for off-grid surveillance as they operate via 4G connectivity and solar power, bypassing the need for traditional wiring," police said as quoted by NDTV.