The North News
Chandigarh/Amritsar, June 22
In a major counter-espionage operation, Punjab Police have arrested Army soldier and his civilian associate for allegedly leaking sensitive military information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), officials said on Sunday.
The accused soldier, identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Gopy Foji, is currently posted in Jammu and hails from Dhariwal in Amritsar. His accomplice, Sahil Masih alias Shali, is also from Dhariwal. Both were apprehended by Amritsar Rural Police while allegedly preparing to hand over classified material, according to Punjab’s Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Singh had been in direct contact with a key ISI handler, identified as Rana Javed. Sensitive information was reportedly transferred using pen drives and digital discs. The authorities said two mobile phones with virtual numbers and encrypted chats—used for communicating with Pakistani handlers—were recovered from the suspects.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amritsar Rural Maninder Singh told reporters that Gurpreet Singh joined the Indian Army in 2016 and had since been exploiting his position to gather confidential military data. The espionage activities were allegedly facilitated by a Dubai-based drug trafficker named Arjan, also from Dhariwal, who is believed to have introduced Singh to the ISI network about five months ago.
Singh is suspected of conducting multiple unauthorised data transfers, using pre-decided drop locations to pass along information. The police also uncovered a sophisticated financial trail used to compensate Singh, routed through multiple intermediaries, including foreign bank accounts and local acquaintances to avoid detection.
The arrests were made during a carefully coordinated intelligence-led operation, the SSP added.
A case has been registered under the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Lopoke Police Station in Amritsar Rural. Authorities said further investigation is underway to dismantle the broader espionage and narco-terror network and identify other domestic and international conspirators.
