CHANDIGARH – A man from Punjab’s Tarn Taran district has been arrested for allegedly leaking sensitive information related to troop movements and strategic military positions during Operation Sindoor to Pakistan’s intelligence agencies, police said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan, hails from Mohalla Rodupur, Gali Nazar Singh Wali, in Tarn Taran. According to Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, Gagandeep had been in contact with Pakistan-based pro-Khalistan leader Gopal Singh Chawla for the past five years. Through Chawla, he was introduced to Pakistani intelligence operatives (PIOs), including contacts from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Gagandeep is accused of sharing highly classified information, including troop deployments and strategic locations, and of receiving payments for this information through Indian financial channels. A mobile phone recovered from him contained sensitive data and the contact details of over 20 ISI operatives, DGP Yadav said.
The arrest was made during a joint operation by Tarn Taran police and the Counter Intelligence wing. An FIR under the Official Secrets Act has been registered at Police Station City, Tarn Taran, and an extensive financial and technical investigation is underway to expose the wider espionage network.
Operation Sindoor, launched by Indian armed forces on May 7, involved pre-dawn missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Targets included the Jaish-e-Mohammad base in Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters in Muridke. The operation was in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which resulted in the deaths of 26 people.
This arrest is the latest in a string of espionage-related busts in Punjab:
- Falaksher Masih and Suraj Masih were earlier arrested from Ajnala in Amritsar.
- Guzala and Yameen Mohammad, both from Malerkotla, were arrested last month. They reportedly shared classified information in exchange for money via online transfers. Guzala had been in contact with Ehsan-ur-Rahim alias Danish, a Pakistani official based at the Pakistan High Commission.
- On May 13, Danish was expelled by India for espionage.
- Sukhpreet Singh and Karanbir Singh were later detained from Gurdaspur for passing on military intelligence to the ISI.
