Chandigarh, June 3: Acting swiftly, Punjab Police have arrested Gagandeep Singh of Tarn Taran for sharing sensitive information concerning army movements during Operation Sindoor, Director General of Police Guarav Yadav said on Tuesday.

The accused had been in contact with the Pakistan’s ISI and Khalistani supporter Gopal Singh Chawla.

Investigations have revealed that he was engaged in sharing classified details, including troop deployments and strategic locations, posing a threat to national security, DGP Yadav wrote on the social media platform X.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Singh had been in touch with Pakistan-based Khalistani supporter Chawla for the past five years, through whom he was introduced to the Pakistani intelligence operatives.

He also received payments from operatives via Indian channels, the DGP said.

The police have recovered a mobile phone containing intelligence that Singh shared with Pakistan, as well as details of over 20 ISI contacts.

“Thorough financial and technical investigations are underway to trace other linkages and establish the full scope of this espionage network,” the DGP added.

A first information report (FIR) has been registered under the Official Secrets Act at the police station (city) in Tarn Taran town, and further investigation is in progress.

Earlier, Punjab Police arrested two people, including a 31-year-old woman, for their alleged involvement in espionage activities linked to an official posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Those arrested were identified as Gazala and Yameen Mohamad, both residents of Malerkotla in Punjab.

Police teams had recovered two mobile phones from their possession. Their arrest came days after Amritsar (Rural) Police arrested two people, Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih, for their alleged role in leaking sensitive information and photographs of army cantonment areas and air bases to Pakistan’s intelligence agency.

DGP Yadav had said that the preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested accused had been receiving payments through online transactions in exchange for sharing classified information. They were in frequent contact with the handler and were involved in channelling funds to other local operatives as per his instructions.

Accused Gazala was arrested for leaking sensitive information regarding Indian Army movements to a Pakistan-based handler.

Based on disclosures made by her during interrogation, a second conduit identified as Yameen Mohamad was also identified and taken into custody.

Accused Gazala admitted that she was doing it in lieu of money, and the accused official has sent her Rs 30,000 in two transactions – Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 – via UPI.

New Delhi, June 2: In a drive against Bangladeshis illegally living in Delhi, the city police rounded up 16 persons, including seven children, from the Seemapuri area, an official said on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara), Prashant Gautam, said the apprehended Bangladeshi nationals revealed that they had crossed into India approximately 18-19 years ago under the cover of darkness.

“They illegally entered India due to extreme poverty and a lack of livelihood opportunities in their native villages, located 40-50 km from the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal,” he said.

The DCP said the arrests were made by a joint team of the Foreigner Cell and special staff of Shahdara after receiving a tip-off last month.

Those arrested include four men and five women, he said, adding that after entering India they initially stayed in the Cooch Behar area.

DCP Gautam said that from there, they travelled by train to New Delhi in search of better employment opportunities.

“Eventually, they moved to Haryana and began working in the rural areas, particularly at brick kilns, where they were involved in brickmaking,” he said.

These kilns are located away from main villages and residential areas, which allowed them to live in hiding without attracting attention, he said.

“No government agency had conducted any verification or background checks on them during this time. The brick kiln owners, driven by the motive of engaging low-cost labour, employed them without documentation,” he said.

Over time, they settled in the area, raised families, and continued to live and work without legal status or scrutiny, he said.

DCP Gautam said that on May 30, the Foreigner Cell of the Shahdara District received information regarding the presence of illegal Bangladeshi nationals attempting to enter the Seemapuri area.

“The tip-off indicated that a group of individuals was moving across the Uttar Pradesh-Delhi border near Shaheed Nagar,” he said.

The arrests were made by a joint team of Foreigner Cell and Special Staff comprising SI Shaji John, ASI Gajender, ASI Johar, ASI Nazir, Head Constable Arun, Head Constable Siddharth, Head Constable Yoginder, Head Constable Amit, Head Constable Vijay, Head Constable Anuj, Woman Head Constable Geeta, Woman Head Constable Manju, Woman Head Constable Renu and Constable Aman led by Inspector Munish Kumar I/C Special Staff & Foreigner Cell under the supervision of Gurudev Singh, ACP/Operations.

New Delhi, June 2: Exposing the criminal mentality of some men in Khaki, the Delhi Police arrested one of its own personnel for stealing Rs 50 lakh and valuables from the anti-terror unit’s warehouse in South Delhi, an official said on Monday.

Head Constable Khurshid, who was shifted out of the Special Cell to the East District a few days ago, was arrested on Saturday for stealing Rs 50 lakh in cash in addition to gold jewellery of an unspecified amount from the Special Cell malkhana (store room) at the Lodhi Road office, the official said.

He was identified and arrested using CCTV footage of Friday night when the theft took place, he said, adding that the stolen items have been recovered.

According to officials, Khurshid relied upon departmental information about the presence of valuables and cash in the malkhana to execute the theft.

Khurshid managed to execute his plan flawlessly and could have got away easily but for an alert malkhana incharge who detected that there was something amiss in the warehouse, the police said.

The arrested Head Constable was earlier posted in the malkhana but was transferred to East Delhi a few days ago, said an official.

“He was aware of the articles kept in the warehouse and also the process to access them,” he said.

He allegedly timed his theft around his transfer so that the suspicion of the absence of the valuables and cash would fall on his other colleagues in the Special Cell’s malkhana.

The Special Cell is a specialised unit of the Delhi Police tasked to prevent, detect and investigate cases of terrorism, organised crime and other serious crimes in Delhi.

While penal offences committed by policemen are probed by the law enforcers themselves, allegations of misconduct with public are investigated by the Delhi government’s Police Complaints Authority.

Authority Chairperson Justice Poonam A. Bamba, former Judge of the Delhi High Court, said in the Annual Report 2023-24 that a total of 1,688 complaints were received and carried forward during the period.

During the year, 649 cases were disposed of, leaving 1,039 cases pending. The percentage of disposals stood at 38.44 per cent.

The Authority is also authorised to probe public complaints related to extortion, land or house grabbing and other incidents involving serious abuse of authority. Complaints of illegal detention, police custody death or rape and grievous hurt in police custody are also probed by the Authority.