Chandigarh:
A college student was arrested from Haryana on suspicion of spying and passing on sensitive information to Pakistan, marking the second such arrest from the state this week at a time calm prevails along the India-Pakistan border.
Devendra Singh Dhillon, a 25-year-old student of political science at Patiala’s Khalsa College, was arrested from Kaithal on May 12 for uploading photos of pistols and guns on his Facebook account. During questioning, it emerged that he went to Pakistan in November last year through the Kartarpur corridor and was sharing sensitive information with officers of Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence agency.
The neighbouring country’s intelligence officers had allegedly spent a lot of money to indulge Dhillon. Kaithal Police Superintendent Aastha Modi said the first year Masters student also shared images of the Patiala military cantonment with Pakistan’s officers.
His phone has been seized and sent for forensic investigation. Further, his bank account is being investigated to ascertain the money trail between him and Pakistani officers.
Dhillon’s arrest comes days after 24-year-old Nauman Ilahi was arrested Panipat on similar charges. The Uttar Pradesh native, who was employed as a security guard in Haryana, used to get money from agents in the account of his brother-in-law and the company driver for giving information to Pakistan. Additionally, Punjab Police last week had arrested two persons, including a woman, for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to a Pakistani official posted at the High Commission in Delhi.
The crackdown on cross-border espionage comes as calm prevails along the border since May 10, when India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire agreement after India’s May 7 Operation Sindoor led to military strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Cross-border military action ensued, escalating tensions that were building up since the April 22 Pahalgam attack in which 26 civilians were killed.
