Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh police have arrested a man from Jammu & Kashmir on charges of espionage and alleged links with Pakistan-based handlers, after he was reportedly found collecting and transmitting sensitive information related to the Indian Army and paramilitary movement in the region.
According to the First Information Report filed by the officer-in-charge of Chimpu police station on November 22, the accused, identified as Nazir Ahmad Malik, a resident of Kupwara district, in Jammu & Kashmir was intercepted from a rented house in Ganga village, Chimpu following “credible and actionable” intelligence inputs regarding his movement within the jurisdiction of the police station.
During sustained interrogation, Malik allegedly disclosed that he was sending troop deployment details, sharing information on Army installations, and maintaining covert communication with handlers based in Pakistan through encrypted Telegram channels.
He also allegedly admitted to receiving specific instructions for acts such as placing explosives and arson aimed at destabilizing security establishments.
Two mobile handsets seized from Malik were found to contain evidence linking him to a Telegram channel named “Al AQSA”, which sources say was used for transmitting security-related information.
Based on his statement, a second person, Sabir Ahmed Mir, also from Kupwara district, was arrested from the Abotani Colony area of Itanagar.
Sources claim Mir came into contact with the same handler through Telegram and was allegedly instructed to facilitate illegal crossings of Pakistani nationals into India and act as an arms carrier.
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the development.
“We received critical inputs from outside Arunachal Pradesh. Based on those alerts, our teams apprehended both the accused. Their main handler, who is believed to be operating from outside the state, is still untraceable. Both the arrested individuals are in judicial custody. We are working on this case very diligently as it is a matter of national security,” the officer said.
The FIR notes that deleted data from Mir’s phone has strengthened suspicion about his role in the network. A preliminary assessment by police alleges that the accused were sharing confidential information, coordinating with “hostile foreign operatives”, and were part of a larger attempt to disturb public order and national security.
Sources said the presence of Malik in Arunachal Pradesh, more than 3000 kms away from Jammu & Kashmir, indicates a wider conspiracy to activate “anti-national elements in the region”.
The case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Arunachal Pradesh Act and a detailed investigation has been sought to unearth the “larger network, linkages and objectives” of the operatives involved.
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