3 Kashmir Residents With Alleged Pak Link Arrested In Arunachal

A 26-year-old man from Jammu and Kashmir has been arrested from Arunachal Pradesh's West Siang district for allegedly spying for Pakistan, sources said. This was the third arrest in a matter of a few weeks in the same case, they said.

The accused, Hilal Ahmed, had been living in the district's Aalo town before the police in the Himalayan border state arrested him on Friday night. He allegedly shared sensitive information to his handlers in Pakistan, sources said.

The first accused, Nazir Ahmad Malik, was arrested on November 22 for allegedly collecting and sending information linked to troop movement in the region, sources said. He is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district.

Subsequently, the second accused, Sabir Ahmed Mir, who is also a resident of Kupwara, was arrested from Arunachal Pradesh's capital Itanagar.

The presence of the three accused in Arunachal Pradesh, more than 3,000 km away from Jammu and Kashmir, indicated a wider conspiracy to activate "anti-national elements in the region", sources said.

West Siang Superintendent of Police Kardak Riba said the Jammu and Kashmir resident, who was arrested on Friday night, came to Arunachal Pradesh's Papum Pare on November 25 to attend a trade fair.

He held a valid Inner Line Permit (ILP), sources said, adding other documents he carried didn't have any defect.

However, intelligence indicated "potentially dangerous behaviour", which prompted the police to arrest him, they said. He has been handed over to the police in Itanagar.

In the first case linked to the accused Nazir Ahmad Malik, the police filed a first information report (FIR) after arresting him from Chimpu village in Itanagar district. The police moved in after analysing "credible and actionable" intelligence on his movement in their jurisdiction, sources said.

During interrogation, he allegedly admitted he also sent information about army installations using the Telegram app to his handlers in Pakistan. He allegedly received instructions on how to plant basic explosives and initiate arson aimed at destabilising the security establishment.

The police saw the incriminating Telegram messages in two mobile phones seized from him, sources said.

The interrogation of Nazir Ahmad Malik led the police to the door of the second accused, Sabir Ahmed Mir, in Itanagar's Abotani Colony.

Sabir Ahmed Mir got in touch with the same handler in Pakistan who had been handholding the other two accused via Telegram app, sources said. The handler allegedly tasked him with finding ways to help Pakistani nationals enter India illegally, though the details are not known.

"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," a senior police officer said, asking not to be named.

According to the FIR, deleted data from Sabir Ahmed Mir's phone strengthened suspicion about his role in the network. A preliminary assessment by the police alleged 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.

The case against the three accused has been filed under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Arunachal Pradesh Act.

The investigation is going on. The police suspect more could be hiding as part of a larger network.

The Arunachal Pradesh development comes a month after a terror module was busted in Haryana's Faridabad. In desperation, the terrorist launched a car bomb attack near Delhi's Red Fort, killing 15.