With the arrest of two more persons, the Arunachal Pradesh Police have so far apprehended five individuals, all residents of Jammu and Kashmir, for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to Pakistani handlers, officials said on Tuesday.
A senior police official said that the two latest arrests were made in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on December 18, and the accused were brought to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday.
The arrested persons have been identified as Aijaz Ahmed Bhat and Bashir Ahmad Ganai, who are currently in police custody in Itanagar.
With these arrests, the total number of persons held in the espionage case has risen to five.
"The accused, during their visits to Arunachal Pradesh, were allegedly collecting sensitive information from people in different parts of the state and sharing it with their Pakistani handlers," the official told the media.
Earlier, on November 21, the police arrested Nazir Ahmad Malik and Sabir Ahmed Mir, both residents of Kupwara district, following credible intelligence inputs about their suspected involvement in espionage activities. Subsequently, another accused, Shabir Ahmed Khan, also a resident of Kupwara district, was arrested from Itanagar.
Nazir Ahmad Malik was first detained from Ganga village, and based on information provided by him, Sabir Ahmed Mir was arrested from Abotani Colony in the Itanagar Capital Region on the same day.
The official said that, based on credible information, a spy ring was operating from Arunachal Pradesh, and the five arrested persons were allegedly part of the network.
The operation was led by Itanagar Superintendent of Police Jummar Basar, with active coordination from intelligence agencies.
Senior police and intelligence officials are currently interrogating the arrested persons, and further arrests will depend on the outcome of the ongoing investigation, the official said.
Meanwhile, the Arunachal Pradesh Police appealed to the public to conduct proper police verification before allowing anyone to stay in their houses on a rental or other basis.
"People should not allow anyone to stay in their houses without proper verification," the police appealed.
The official also clarified that another person, earlier detained from Miao in Changlang district, was released after investigators found no evidence linking him to the espionage activities.
According to the police, the arrested persons were mostly blanket vendors who travelled to various parts of the state and allegedly collected information while selling their goods.
(With inputs from IANS)
