Pakistani spy network busted in Pathankot, accused was sending information about army activities by installing CCTV on the highway

New Delhi: Police have exposed a big high-tech espionage network in Pathankot, Punjab. Investigation has revealed that CCTV cameras were secretly installed on the National Highway to keep an eye on the activities of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, whose live feed was being sent to the handlers sitting in Pakistan and abroad.

Police have arrested the main accused Baljeet Singh alias Bittu in this case. The accused is accused of installing internet-based cameras to monitor the movement of the army. After this revelation, security agencies have come into alert mode and a thorough investigation of the foreign connections of the entire network has been started.

Where was the secret CCTV installed?

According to police officials, the arrested accused Baljeet Singh alias Bittu Chakk is a resident of Dhariwal village. He had installed an internet-based CCTV camera in a shop located near a bridge on Pathankot-Jammu National Highway-44. Senior police officer Daljinder Singh Dhillon said that the live feed of the camera was being sent electronically to the operatives present in Pakistan and abroad. Its main objective was to monitor the activities of the army.

Where were the instructions coming from?

During interrogation, the accused revealed that he had installed this camera on the highway near Sujanpur in the month of January. He was continuously receiving instructions from an unknown person sitting in Dubai. According to a report, 40 thousand rupees were also given to the accused in return for this work. Police have recovered CCTV camera and internet WiFi router from the accused.

FIR registered against how many people?

After receiving intelligence about suspicious activities, the police took action and caught this network. Apart from Baljeet Singh, Sujanpur police has also registered a case against Vikramjeet Singh alias Vicka, Balwinder Singh alias Vicky and Taranpreet Singh alias Tannu in anti-national activities and criminal cases. According to officials, a detailed report of the case has been sent to higher officials. The investigating agencies are now deeply investigating the sources of funding and cross-border networks. Continuous raids are going on in search of absconding accused.

Hi-tech espionage modules have surfaced earlier also

This is not the first case of such high-tech spying network in Punjab. Last month also two modules supporting inter-service intelligence were disclosed. In these modules, live feed of military bases was being sent to Pakistan using China-made 4G and solar powered CCTV cameras.

Wires connected to Jalandhar and Kapurthala also

One module was caught by the Counter Intelligence Wing of Jalandhar. According to AIG Simratpal Singh Dhindsa, Ferozepur resident Sukhwinder Singh alias Sukha was arrested and a Chinese camera, SIM card and solar plate with 4G connectivity was recovered from him. The second module was caught in a joint operation between Kapurthala Police and a central agency. Gaurav Tora told that Sona and Sandeep Singh alias Sonu were arrested after raiding a shop in Model Town area. The accused had taken the shop on rent for the purpose of installing SIM-based cameras to keep an eye on military activities.

Pakistani handler army had sent funding

Investigation of the Kapurthala case also revealed that a Pakistani handler named Fauji had sent Rs 35,000 to the accused for installing the camera. SSP Gaurav Tura told that accused Sandeep was also associated with drug smuggling. He had taken Rs 50,000 for distributing one kg of heroin sent by a Pakistani handler through drone.

Why are Chinese cameras being used?

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said that these modules send live footage of sensitive military bases to Pakistan through mobile app. He said, these Chinese cameras are perfect for off-grid surveillance because they run on 4G internet and solar power. Due to this, they do not require electrical wires like normal cameras and they can be easily installed anywhere.