Guwahati: Assam Police have arrested two people, including a retired Army personnel working with the force on a contractual basis, for allegedly sharing sensitive security-related information with a Pakistani intelligence operative, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Sunday.
Sarma said the arrests were made following inputs from central intelligence agencies and that the two accused would be handed over to the central agencies for further investigation.
Earlier, Assam Police said its Special Task Force (STF) had arrested a 31-year-old Bihar native from a rented accommodation in Guwahati in connection with suspected espionage activities.
The accused was identified as Abhishek Kumar Singh, a resident of Purba Champaran in Bihar. According to police, preliminary inputs regarding Singh were received from Military Intelligence of the Tezpur-based Gajraj Corps.
The STF, in coordination with Sonitpur Police, subsequently gathered information indicating that Singh was allegedly involved in activities considered prejudicial to national security and was operating under the direction of a Pakistani intelligence operative.
Based on the intelligence inputs, the STF conducted an operation during the intervening night of October 3 and 4 and apprehended Singh from his rented residence in Guwahati.
Police said a mobile phone, SIM cards and documents considered incriminating were recovered during the operation. Further investigation is underway.
Speaking to reporters, Sarma said the two accused were allegedly in contact with Pakistani handlers and were suspected of providing information concerning the movement of Army personnel.
“It has been alleged that they were in touch with Pakistan and were giving information about army movement. We will hand them over to the central agencies,” the Chief Minister said.
Sarma also said preliminary information indicated that the accused may have been honey-trapped by individuals seeking to obtain sensitive information from them.
Police said the investigation is continuing to establish the full extent of the alleged contacts and the nature of the information that may have been shared.