Chandigarh: Two Army jawans have been arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). This information was given by the Punjab Police here Tuesday. The two Army jawans have been identified as Sepoy Harpreet Singh (23) Sepoy Gurbhej Singh (23). Harpreet was posted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag and belongs to 19 Rashtriya Rifles. Gurbhej on the other hand was working as a clerk in Kargil and belongs to 18 Sikh Light Infantry.
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Dinkar Gupta said both the accused had already shared pictures of over 900 classified documents. These were matters pertaining to defence of India and national security to a cross-border drug smuggler, Ranvir Singh, over a period of four months between February and May 2021. Ranvir then passed them on to Pakistani Intelligence Officers.
Gupta said that the Jalandhar Rural Police, led by SSP Naveen Singla, while investigating a narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (NDPS) case, recovered confidential and secret documents related to the functioning and deployment of the Indian Army from Ranvir. He was arrested with 70 kg of heroin May 24.
Gupta informed that during interrogation, Ranvir disclosed that he got these documents from Harpreet, who was his friend. They both belong to the same village.
“Ranvir motivated and lured Harpreet with financial benefits for sharing defence-related classified documents. Harpreet then induced his friend Gurbhej into such anti-national spying activities,” Gupta alleged.
Since Gurbhej was working as a clerk in 121 Infantry Brigade Headquarters in Kargil, he could get easy access to these classified documents, the DGP was quoted as saying in an official statement here.
The DGP said Ranvir used to send these classified documents to either the Pakistan ISI operatives directly or via one Gopi. The latter has been identified as the main drug smuggler from Dauke village in Amritsar having links with Pakistan-based drug-smuggling syndicates and ISI officials, who invariably work in tandem with each other.
Following Ranvir’s disclosures, the police have also arrested Gopi, who has confessed to having transferred classified documents to Pakistan-based drug smugglers, one of whom has been identified as Kothar, and an alleged Pak ISI operative identified as Sikander in lieu of supply of heroin and financial benefits, the DGP said.
According to preliminary investigations, the DGP said that Harpreet, from Cheecha village in Amritsar, and Gurbhej, a native of Punian village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran, got monetary inducements for sharing confidential information. Harpreet had joined the Army in 2017 while Gurbhej did so in 2015.