Arunachal Pradesh's Itanagar police have arrested two more persons from Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district for allegedly spying and collecting sensitive information for handlers based in Pakistan, officials said.
The arrested persons have been identified as Aijaz Ahmed Bhat and Bashir Ahmad Ganai.
With the latest arrests, the total number of accused held in the espionage case has risen to five.
Speaking to reporters, Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Chukhu Apa said the arrests were made on December 18. "The accused have been brought to the state from Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir and they are currently in our police custody. With this, the total number of trust in the case has risen to five," Apa said.
He said the accused were collecting sensitive information from different parts of Arunachal Pradesh and sharing it with their Pakistani handlers.
"We are waiting for the forensic report. The preliminary investigation revealed that they are sharing sensitive information to the handlers across the country. Our investigation is on and further details will be rolled out during our investigation," the IGP said.
Earlier, on November 21, the police had arrested Nazir Ahmad Malik and Sabir Ahmed Mir, both residents of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, after receiving credible information about their possible involvement in espionage activities. Subsequently, another accused, Shabir Ahmed Khan, who also belongs to Kupwara, was arrested from Itanagar.
"We were working on credible intelligence inputs about a spy ring operating in Arunachal Pradesh. Under the leadership of Itanagar SP Jummar Basar, the team worked diligently and made these arrests. Two accused were arrested from Kupwara, while three were arrested from different locations in the Itanagar Capital Region," Apa said.
The arrested individuals were mostly blanket sellers who travelled to various parts of the state to collect information, the IGP said.
The IGP also urged residents of Itanagar to remain vigilant and verify documents before allowing anyone to stay in their homes on rent.
"I urge the people of Itanagar to check the documents and verify it from the police before letting anyone in your house for rent. If you don't do that then you will get into trouble," he said.
