Chandigarh, November 5: A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan and sharing sensitive information across the border, the Punjab Police said on Sunday.
“He shared details about barbed-wire fencing, footage of border roads, and contact numbers of BSF unit officers, among other things,” a police officer said, adding that the accused, Sheikh Riyazuddin, used Facebook Messenger and mobile phones to share the information.
The police recovered two mobile phones and seven SIM cards from him, and are now trying to find out in whose name the SIM cards were bought, sources said. A case was registered against Riyazuddin under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and the National Security Act, 1980, based on a complaint by the deputy commandant of the BSF’s 29th battalion, Mamdot, Raj Kumar.
According to the complaint, the jawan, from Latur area of Maharashtra, was sharing secret information with Pakistan’s espionage agency Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). During preliminary interrogation, the accused jawan reportedly admitted to passing on information and photos of fencing wires, roadmaps, and contact numbers of units related to the Mamdot Ferozepur secretary and a classified BSF organisation, to Mirza Faisal, a Pakistani intelligence operative. Meanwhile, a state-wide terror alert has been issued in Punjab after the police received inputs of a planned hand-grenade terror attack during the festive season.
