The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Friday arrested a labourer for allegedly sharing sensitive information regarding the movement of the Indian Coast Guard with a Pakistani agent, said a police official.
Dipesh Gohel, who worked as a welder-cum-labourer at Okha jetty in the coastal Devbhumi Dwarka district, shared intelligence on ICG ships coming to the jetty with a Pakistan-based woman for a payment of Rs 200 per day, said Superintendent of Police (ATS) K Siddharth, according to a PTI report.
Gohel was arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against the government under sections 61 and 147 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the SP said.
ALSO READ | Kolkata Hospital Refuses To Treat Patients From Across Border Due To 'Violence Against Hindus' In Bangladesh
The accused was on the radar of the ATS after receiving a tip-off that the labourer was in touch with an agent of Pakistan's spy agency ISI or an Army officer. Technical surveillance later established that the phone calls and messages to Gohel emanated from Pakistan, he said.
He came in contact with the woman from Pakistan, Sahima nearly seven months ago on Facebook and the two later started talking on WhatsApp, Siddharth said.
The woman told Gohel she works for the Pakistan Navy and offered Rs 200 per day for sharing the names and numbers of Coast Guard ships arriving at the jetty and their movement, said the police officer.
ALSO READ | Chhattisgarh Man Gets Death Sentence For Burning 4-Year-Old Boy To Death In 2022
"Despite knowing that it was illegal, Gohel agreed and started sharing such sensitive information," he added.
For payment, Gohel gave the account details of three of his friends since he does not have a bank account of his own. A total of Rs 42,000 in payment was received through UPI during the last seven months from the woman, the IPS officer said. The accused used to take cash from his friends against those deposits, he added.