Two arrested in Assam for allegedly passing army movement details to Pakistan: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday, October 4 said Assam Police arrested two persons, including a retired Army jawan re-employed on a contractual basis, for allegedly sharing security-related information, including details of Army movement, with a Pakistani intelligence operative.

The arrests were made based on inputs provided by central intelligence agencies, Sarma said at a press conference. He added that the two accused would be handed over to central agencies for further investigation.

“Today, as per input of central agencies, the Assam Police arrested two persons. One is a retired Army jawan but currently working on a contractual basis with the Army,” Sarma said.

He said the accused were allegedly in contact with Pakistan and were passing information concerning the movement of Army personnel. According to the chief minister, initial reports indicated that the two men had allegedly been honey-trapped by individuals seeking to extract sensitive information from them.

Earlier on Sunday, the Assam Police said its Special Task Force (STF) had arrested a 31-year-old Bihar resident from Guwahati in connection with alleged espionage activities.

The accused, identified as Abhishek Kumar Singh, a native of Purba Champaran in Bihar, had been staying in a rented accommodation in Guwahati, police said.

According to the police, a preliminary input regarding Singh was shared by the Military Intelligence of the Tezpur-based Gajraj Corps. Acting on the input, the Assam STF, in coordination with the Sonitpur Police, conducted a further inquiry into his alleged activities.

The preliminary investigation indicated Singh's alleged involvement in espionage-related activities, including the purported transmission of sensitive information concerning security forces to a Pakistani intelligence operative (PIO), the police said.

Singh was suspected of carrying out anti-national activities under the instructions of the alleged Pakistani operative, according to the police.

“Based on the information, during the intervening night of October 3 and 4, the Assam STF conducted an operation and apprehended the 31-year-old man from a rented house in Guwahati,” the police statement said.

During the operation, the STF recovered a mobile phone, SIM cards and documents described as incriminating from Singh's possession.

The police said further investigation into the alleged espionage network and the role of the accused is underway.