Espionage probe widens in Arunachal Pradesh; two more held

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ITANAGAR: The Itanagar Police have intensified their crackdown on an alleged espionage network operating in Arunachal Pradesh with the arrest of two more persons from Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, taking the total number of arrests in the case to five.

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Chukhu Apa informed that the latest arrests were made on December 18, and the accused have since been brought to the state, where they are currently in police custody.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Aijaz Ahmed Bhat and Bashir Ahmad Ganai.

Clarifying developments in the case, Apa said that another person who was earlier detained from Miao in Changlang district has been released after investigators found no material evidence linking him to the alleged espionage activities.

According to the police officer, the accused were allegedly involved in collecting sensitive information from different parts of Arunachal Pradesh and sharing it with handlers based in Pakistan.

The case first came to light on November 21, when police arrested Nazir Ahmad Malik and Sabir Ahmed Mir, both residents of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, following specific intelligence inputs about their suspected involvement in spying activities.

Malik was initially detained from Ganga village in Itanagar, and based on information obtained from him, Mir was arrested later the same day from Abotani Colony in the state capital.

West Siang Police arrested Hilal Ahmed, also from Kupwara district, from a shop at Aalo, the district headquarters, where he was running a cloth shop at the trade fair in the Old Market.

Changlang Police had also arrested Gulam Md Mir from Miao, who was later released.

The arrested individuals were mostly blanket sellers who travelled to various parts of the state to collect information, the IGP said.

"We were working on credible information about a spy ring operating in Arunachal. Under the leadership of Itanagar SP Jummar Basar, the team worked diligently and made these arrests. Two were arrested from Kupwara and three from different locations in the Itanagar Capital Region," Apa said.

On the possibility of further arrests, the IGP said that interrogation of the accused is continuing and forensic examination reports are awaited.

"We will proceed further based on evidence in the coming days," he added. Expressing concern over lax verification practices, Apa urged citizens to remain vigilant.

"I appeal to the people of Arunachal Pradesh to carry out police verification before allowing anyone to stay on your property for safety reasons. Do not allow people to stay in your house without proper verification," he said.

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