Chandigarh: Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said here on Sunday that in a major counter-espionage operation, Amritsar Rural Police have arrested an Indian Army personnel and his aide suspected of espionage activities linked to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The accused have been identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopy Foji and his associate Sahil Masih, alias Shali, both residents of Dhariwal in Amritsar. 

Gurpreet Singh is currently posted in Jammu. 

DGP Yadav said that preliminary investigation stated that Gurpreet Singh was in direct contact with operatives of the ISI and is suspected of sharing sensitive and confidential information via pen drives. 

The key ISI handler involved in the case has been identified as Rana Javed. 

The DGP said that two mobile phones containing virtual numbers, reportedly used to communicate with ISI operatives, have been recovered from the possession of both the accused. 

Further investigations are underway to dismantle the broader espionage-terror network and identify all collaborators in this case, he added. 

Senior Superintendent of Police (Amritsar Rural), Maninder Singh, said that the accused Gurpreet Singh was recruited into the Army in 2016 and systematically exploited his official position to collect, store, and transmit classified military information via pen drives and discs. 

The espionage network was reportedly facilitated by an acquaintance identified as Arjan, a Dubai-based drug trafficker from Dhariwal, who introduced Gurpreet to ISI operatives five months ago, the SSP said, adding that since then Gurpreet Singh has actively engaged in the unauthorised collection and relay of sensitive military data to the ISI using pre-decided drop locations.

The Senior Superintendent of Police said that in lieu of this espionage activity the accused Gurpreet Singh was receiving monetary compensation through a complex financial network involving intermediary bank accounts of friends, relatives, and foreign associates to evade detection. 

In an intelligence-led operation, police teams have arrested the duo while they were attempting another handover of sensitive data. 

He said that further investigations are underway to unravel the wider nexus and identify additional conspirators, both domestic and foreign-based. 

A case has been registered under Sections 3, 5, and 9 of the Official Secrets Act and Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the police station in Lopoke in Amritsar district. (IANS)