Two held in Arunachal for leaking Army deployment details to Pakistan handlers

Itanagar, Dec 11: Two men from Jammu and Kashmir were arrested in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday on charges of espionage.

Police have identified the accused as Nazir Ahmad Malik and Sabir Ahmed Mir, both residents of Kupwara district, who were running small businesses in Itanagar.

A case was registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Official Secrets Act and the Arunachal Pradesh Act and the arrested individuals have been sent to judicial custody.

According to police, Nazir was arrested on November 22 from a rented house in Ganga village under the Chimpu police station area of Itanagar following specific intelligence inputs.

During interrogation, he allegedly admitted to sharing deployment details of the Army and paramilitary forces, as well as information on military installations, with Pakistani handlers through Telegram.

Police further claimed that Nazir disclosed having received instructions to place explosives and carry out arson targeting security establishments.

Two mobile phones were seized from Nazir, and officers said they contained digital traces linking him to a Telegram channel named “Al AQSA”, which investigators described as being used to transmit security-related information.

Based on details provided by Nazir, investigators arrested Sabir Ahmed Mir from Abotani Colony in Itanagar. According to police allegations, Sabir had been instructed to facilitate the illegal entry of Pakistani nationals into India and serve as an arms courier.

An official added that Nazir’s presence in Arunachal Pradesh indicated the possibility of a larger attempt to activate operatives in the region.

Police said a detailed investigation is underway to identify the wider network, its linkages and the objectives behind the operation.

“This is a developing case. We are working on it, and a lot remains to be done. We will soon give an official statement. Whatever information is in the press is not the official version of the state police,” Inspector General of Police (Law & Order) Chukhu Apa said, declining to provide further details due to the sensitivity of the matter.

PTI