Man Spying For Pakistani Intelligence Agency Arrested in Gujarat

Bharuch: A man has been arrested in Bharuch district of Gujarat for allegedly spying for a Pakistani intelligence agency, police said on Thursday.

Pravin Mishra, the accused, had allegedly collected highly confidential information about the Indian Armed Forces and defence-related R&D firms, said the Gujarat Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The CID started its probe following a tip-off from the Military Intelligence, Udhampur.

A resident of Ankleshwar in Bharuch district and native of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, Mishra was in contact with a Pakistani intelligence operative through Whatsapp calls and audio chat "to carry out a criminal conspiracy against the country that could have serious security consequences," the CID said in a release.

"It was found that the information was being sent to an intelligence agency located in Pakistan," the CID said.

A case was registered against Mishra and the Pakistani operative who used an Indian WhatsApp number and the fake Facebook ID of `Sonal Garg', it said.

"The case has also been registered against the officers/employees involved in the criminal conspiracy who were in touch with the operative on the WhatsApp number," the release added.

The Military Intelligence had alerted the CID about the present or retired employees of the Armed Forces, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and employees associated with the R&D of missile system development being used to get confidential information, the CID said.

Further probe was underway, it added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)