Woman among two held on espionage charges for Pakistani official at High Commission in Delhi

Chandigarh: Punjab Police on Sunday said it has arrested two persons including a woman for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani official posted at the High Commission in Delhi.

Based on credible intelligence, a suspect was arrested for leaking sensitive information to a Pakistan-based handler regarding Indian Army movements, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.

Those arrested have been identified as 31-year-old Guzala and Yameen Mohamad, residents of Malerkotla. Police teams have also recovered two mobile phones from their possession, Yadav said.

Police said the accused official has also been identified and named in the FIR.

The development came days after the Amritsar Rural Police arrested two persons -- Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih -- for their alleged role in leaking sensitive information and photographs of the Army Cantonment areas and Air Bases to Pakistan's intelligence agency.

Yadav said the accused had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for sharing classified information.

They were in frequent contact with the handler and were involved in channelling funds to other local operatives as per his instructions, the officer said.

This operation marks a significant step in dismantling cross-border espionage networks and reinforces our commitment to national security, police said.

Further investigation will be undertaken as per established protocol, with a focus on tracing the financial trail and identifying additional operatives and linkages within the network, he added.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Malerkotla, Gagan Ajit Singh said acting on credible intelligence, accused Guzala was arrested for leaking sensitive information regarding the Indian Army movements to a Pakistan-based handler.

Based on disclosures made by her during interrogation, a second conduit identified as Yameen Mohamad was also identified and taken into custody, he said.

During interrogation, Guzala confessed to having shared the confidential information about activities of the Indian Army with the official posted at Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, Yadav said.

He said Guzala further revealed that she was doing it in lieu of money and the accused official has sent her Rs 30,000 in two transactions of --” Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 --” via UPI (unified payment interface).

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Official Secret Act at Police Station City-1 Malerkotla.