Tezpur: A retired Indian Air Force (IAF) NCO was arrested from Tezpur in Assam’s Sonitpur district late on Friday for his alleged links with Pakistani intelligence operatives. This follows on the heels of four Kashmiri residents over the past few days in an alleged espionage case.
The retired IAF Junior Warrant Officer, identified as Kulendra Sarma, is a resident of the Patia locality of Tezpur.
According to the police, preliminary investigation revealed he had shared sensitive documents and information with Pakistani intelligence operatives. Officials have seized his laptop and mobile phone and sent them for forensic tests.
Barun Purkayastha, SP, Sonitpur, has been quoted by The New Indian Express as saying that the police were tracking the accused for the past few weeks.
“We received human intel about
him. We kept him under technical surveillance, but slowly the matter was getting serious. We took time to collect evidence and picked him up eventually,” Purkayastha said.
Efforts are on to find out if he had any local associates, the SP said, adding that a case was registered against Sarma under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Sarma retired in 2002. He was then posted at Air Force Station Tezpur, one of the country’s key air bases that houses Su-30 MKI air superiority fighter jets. He also worked at the Tezpur University for a while.
It has also been reported that the four Kashmiris arrested from Arunachal Pradesh are from Kupwara.
Nazir Ahmad Malik and Sabir Ahmed Mir were arrested by the Itanagar Police on November 21, based on intelligence inputs about their possible involvement in espionage activities. They reportedly shared vital information about Army movements and installations in Arunachal with their Pakistani associates through a Telegram channel.
Based on their interrogation, the West Siang police arrested one Hilal Ahmed from Aalo, and Changlang police arrested one Gulam Md Mir from Miao.
The matter is under investigation and agencies are probing the role of others.