AMRITSAR: The Punjab Police Special Operations Cell busted an espionage network in Punjab, after receiving a tip-off from the military intelligence unit. Ravi Kumar, a resident of Dhaleke village, Amritsar has been arrested on spying charges. It has been reported that Kumar was recruited by Pakistan's Inter-Surveillance Intelligence (ISI) seven months back through Facebook. He is currently under interrogation and will be produced in the Amritsar Court.
In the preliminary interrogation, he said he was contacted by ISI agents through the social-networking website. He has already confessed sharing vital information about army installations, movement of the Indian army, and information on the construction of bunkers along the border to his ISI handlers in Pakistan through Whatsapp, Facebook, and the phone. Punjab Special Operations Cell has recovered photographs of vital Army installation, Indian Army vehicles, sketch maps of restricted areas, photocopies of restricted training manuals of Indian Army, and sensitive information about Army Operations.
Kumar said that the ISI had sponsored a Dubai trip between February 20 to 24, this year, where he was briefed about his assignment. He was also being paid by the Pak agency through money transfers which were routed via Dubai. A Punjab police spokesperson said, “Investigations are being conducted to identify and track such fake Facebook accounts. Defence establishments have also been surprised of the new social media threat so that they can take necessary action at the end.”
The interrogation has reportedly led to several revelations about fake Facebook accounts that are being used by the ISI to lure gullible Punjab youth for spying. The spokesperson said that Pak-based agencies operate a large number of fake Facebook accounts in the name of beautiful Pakistani girls who firs befriend the youths and then use them for spying purposes.
