OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: Two men from Jammu & Kashmir have been arrested in Arunachal Pradesh for allegedly collecting sensitive information on troop movement and maintaining covert links with Pakistan-based handlers, a senior police officer, who did not want to be quoted, said.
The arrests, he added, indicate the possibility of a wider network attempting to activate anti-national operatives in the Northeast.
According to the FIR filed at Chimpu police station, the first accused, Nazir Ahmad Malik of the Kupwara district, was arrested on November 22 from a rented house in Ganga village near here, after police received ‘credible and actionable’ intelligence inputs.
During interrogation, Malik allegedly admitted to relaying deployment details of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, sharing information on military installations, and communicating with handlers in Pakistan through encrypted Telegram channels.
Investigators further claim that Malik disclosed receiving instructions to place explosives and carry out arson targeting security establishments. Two mobile phones seized from him reportedly contained digital traces linking him to a Telegram channel named “Al AQSA”, described by police sources as a conduit for transmitting security-related information.
Acting on Malik’s statements, police arrested the second accused, Sabir Ahmed Mir, also from Kupwara, from Abotani Colony here.
Mir had allegedly been in touch with a Pakistan-based handler via Telegram and was instructed to facilitate the illegal entry of Pakistani nationals into India and act as an arms courier. Deleted data retrieved from his phone has heightened police suspicion about his involvement.
Both the men, who run petty businesses here, are in judicial custody, the police officer said.
Police officials say Malik’s presence in Arunachal Pradesh points to a possible larger plan to activate operatives in the region.
The case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Official Secrets Act, and the Arunachal Pradesh Act. A detailed investigation is underway to identify the wider network, its linkages, and the objectives behind the operation.
Inspector General of Police (Law & Order) Chukhu Apa, while confirming the arrests, declined to divulge further details, citing the sensitivity of the case.
“This is a developing case. We are working on it, and a lot remains to be done. Police will soon give an official statement. Whatever information the media is getting now is not the official version of the state police,” he said.
The arrests come at a time when several organizations in the state have intensified demands for action against alleged illegal Muslim immigrants.
On December 9, three organizations - the Indigenous Youth Force of Arunachal (IYFA), Arunachal Pradesh Indigenous Youth Organization (APIYO), and All Naharlagun Youth Organization (ANYO) – had called a dawn-to-dusk bandh in the capital region.
Their demands included the demolition of “illegally constructed” mosques and panjra-namas (makeshift prayer structures), identification and deportation of individuals they claim are illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, and a ban on weekly markets in the state capital.
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