'Activated after Pahalgam attack': Police reveals ISI link to 2 Pakistani spies arrested for leaking Op Sindoor details

The arrested individuals were in touch with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and received Rs 1 lakh in their accounts. (Representative image: PTI)

The increase in hostilities between India and Pakistan following the terror attack on civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22 has resulted in police busting what appears to be an elaborate espionage racket involving an influencer and a businessman, among others.

On Monday, the Punjab Police said it had busted a module which leaked secret information to Pakistan. Two individuals were arrested from Gurdaspur on charges that they leaked secret information of our security forces in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

"Gurdaspur police have busted a module which leaked secret information to Pakistan. Two people have been arrested... They leaked secret information of our security forces in Himachal and J&K... People involved in such activities are Pakistani spies. They have betrayed our nation," DIG Border Range Satinder Singh said.

The official further revealed that both arrested individuals were in touch with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI and received Rs 1 lakh into their accounts.

"The ISI made them active after the Pahalgam attack," DIG Singh said.

The arrested individuals, identified as Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh, were engaged in sharing classified details related to Operation Sindoor, including troop movements and key strategic locations in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, with Pakistan's intelligence agency, ISI, Director General of Punjab Police Gaurav Yadav said.

"Forensic examination of their mobile phones has confirmed the intelligence inputs. Police have also recovered three mobile phones and eight live cartridges (.30 bore) from their possession," he added.

The revelation by the official suggests how keen Pakistan's notorious spy agency was in trying to gauge India's response to the terror attack that India claims was backed, funded and facilitated by Pakistan's government.

"Both of them are aged 19-20 years. They are also involved in drugs... They have been sharing information for the last 15-20 days," the official added.

The two apprehended individuals have been booked under the Official Secrets Act at the Dorangala police station in Gurdaspur.

The arrest of the two individuals from Gurdaspur comes amid a massive crackdown by Indian authorities on espionage activities allegedly being carried out by Indian nationals at the behest of Pakistan.

The crackdown saw the arrest of Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber from Punajb, on espionage charges. She is believed to have passed on sensitive information to her Pakistan-based handlers and even travelled to Pakistan on several occasions during recent months. She also visited Pahalgam just three months ahead of the heinous attack on unsuspecting tourists in April.

Following Malhotra's arrest, another individual, a businessman from Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by the Special Task Force of UP Police on Sunday.

Another suspected spy, 24-year-old Nauman Ilahi, was arrested in Haryana's Panipat on May 15 for allegedly being in touch with a Pakistan-based agent linked to the ISI.

Earlier this month, the Punjab Police arrested two accused - Palak Sher Masih and Suraj Masih - who allegedly leaked photographs and details of Army cantonment areas and airbases in Amritsar to Pakistani handlers.

(With Agencies)