<p>Srinagar: Security agencies have launched an extensive crackdown on a suspected espionage network operating within Jammu and Kashmir to establish whether any sensitive information was passed before and during Operation Sindoor to “persons across the border.”</p><p>The sweeping operation across the Union Territory follows the arrest of Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra and over a dozen others in different parts of the country, suspected of leaking sensitive military and strategic information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).</p><p>Intelligence officials now fear that some individuals in J&K may have also facilitated the cross-border terror ecosystem through espionage.</p>.SIA raids 18 locations linked to terror sleeper cells in four districts of Jammu region.<p>According to sources, a series of intercepted communications—both from across the LoC and within Jammu and Kashmir—have raised alarm bells among security agencies. These communications, exchanged using encrypted apps and coded language, appear similar to patterns found in previous spy cases and are now undergoing forensic analysis.</p><p>“Nearly two dozen individuals are under active surveillance in Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, and Udhampur districts,” a senior official revealed. </p><p>“Several suspects were found to be frequently changing their locations and communicating through encrypted platforms—typical signatures of covert espionage activity.”</p><p>As part of the intensified crackdown, electronic and human surveillance has surged across the UT. On Friday, the State Investigation Agency (SIA)—J&K’s equivalent of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)—raided 15 locations, including 12 in Surankote and 3 in Haveli area of Poonch, along with Rajouri town, Ramnagar in Udhampur, and Ramban district.</p><p>Sources confirmed that these raids pointed to a well-entrenched espionage racket rooted in the border districts, particularly in Poonch, which has historically seen cross-border infiltration and smuggling.</p><p>The move comes amid rising concerns that espionage and information leaks may have played a role in facilitating the Pahalgam attack, where terrorists killed 25 tourists and a local. The brutality of the attack and its possible coordination have led officials to suspect that local recon support may have been provided to militant handlers.</p><p>Operation Sindoor, launched shortly after the Pahalgam massacre, involved precision strikes by Indian forces on terror camps across the border, leading to heightened Indo-Pak military tensions and a sharp escalation in ceasefire violations along the LoC.</p><p>Jammu and Kashmir has long been a hotspot for espionage networks, with handlers exploiting ideological and digital vulnerabilities to recruit local assets. Officials believe that sleeper cells embedded across the UT may soon be unearthed as investigations deepen.</p><p>“No arrests have been made yet in the UT, but the investigation is progressing rapidly,” an official from the SIA said.</p>
<p>Srinagar: Security agencies have launched an extensive crackdown on a suspected espionage network operating within Jammu and Kashmir to establish whether any sensitive information was passed before and during Operation Sindoor to “persons across the border.”</p><p>The sweeping operation across the Union Territory follows the arrest of Haryana-based YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra and over a dozen others in different parts of the country, suspected of leaking sensitive military and strategic information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).</p><p>Intelligence officials now fear that some individuals in J&K may have also facilitated the cross-border terror ecosystem through espionage.</p>.SIA raids 18 locations linked to terror sleeper cells in four districts of Jammu region.<p>According to sources, a series of intercepted communications—both from across the LoC and within Jammu and Kashmir—have raised alarm bells among security agencies. These communications, exchanged using encrypted apps and coded language, appear similar to patterns found in previous spy cases and are now undergoing forensic analysis.</p><p>“Nearly two dozen individuals are under active surveillance in Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, and Udhampur districts,” a senior official revealed. </p><p>“Several suspects were found to be frequently changing their locations and communicating through encrypted platforms—typical signatures of covert espionage activity.”</p><p>As part of the intensified crackdown, electronic and human surveillance has surged across the UT. On Friday, the State Investigation Agency (SIA)—J&K’s equivalent of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)—raided 15 locations, including 12 in Surankote and 3 in Haveli area of Poonch, along with Rajouri town, Ramnagar in Udhampur, and Ramban district.</p><p>Sources confirmed that these raids pointed to a well-entrenched espionage racket rooted in the border districts, particularly in Poonch, which has historically seen cross-border infiltration and smuggling.</p><p>The move comes amid rising concerns that espionage and information leaks may have played a role in facilitating the Pahalgam attack, where terrorists killed 25 tourists and a local. The brutality of the attack and its possible coordination have led officials to suspect that local recon support may have been provided to militant handlers.</p><p>Operation Sindoor, launched shortly after the Pahalgam massacre, involved precision strikes by Indian forces on terror camps across the border, leading to heightened Indo-Pak military tensions and a sharp escalation in ceasefire violations along the LoC.</p><p>Jammu and Kashmir has long been a hotspot for espionage networks, with handlers exploiting ideological and digital vulnerabilities to recruit local assets. Officials believe that sleeper cells embedded across the UT may soon be unearthed as investigations deepen.</p><p>“No arrests have been made yet in the UT, but the investigation is progressing rapidly,” an official from the SIA said.</p>