‘Pakistani Spy’ Arrested In Kolkata With Sensitive Docs, Accused Of Providing Military Info

The alleged Pakistani spy is accused of covertly sending military intelligence to a Pakistan-based handler. Police arrested him after hours of questioning in the Special Task Force's office in Kolkata.

The alleged Pakistani spy was identified as Bhakt Banshi Jha from Bihar's Darbhanga district, sources said.

Source : Manogya Loiwal

In a significant development, a 36-year-old man who was allegedly working as a spy for Pakistan was arrested in West Bengal's capital city Kolkata with several sensitive documents seized from his possession. The man was identified as Bhakt Banshi Jha from Bihar's Darbhanga district and is accused of covertly sending military intelligence to a Pakistan-based handler, sources said. The accused was picked up from his residence in Howrah on Friday night and police arrested him after hours of questioning in the Special Task Force's office in Kolkata, news agency PTI reported.

"The arrested man was found directly involved in activities prejudicial to the safety of the country," a senior police officer told PTI. “Secret information in the form of photographs, videos, and online chats were found in his mobile phone. These were sent by him to a suspected intelligence operative of Pakistan," the officer added.

He informed that Jha's mobile device has also been seized.

According to the police, the initial probe revealed that he was working with a courier service company in Kolkata and had earlier stayed in Delhi.

"The accused has been living in Howrah area for the last three months after relocating from Delhi. He was picked up Friday from there and after grilling was examined at our office," the officer said, as per PTI.

Alleged Pakistani Agent Got Involved In 'Honey Trap' Case

According to sources, it was a 'honey trap' case wherein Jha got into a Facebook interaction with a Pakistani girl who called herself Arushi Sharma. This girl, purportedly an agent herself, reportedly befriended the accused. Allegedly, Jha engaged in explicit conversations via video and audio calls with the girl.

The alleged Pakistani agent asked him to meet a man in Delhi claiming that he was her father During the encounter, the accused interacted with the man and even procured a SIM card for him.

The woman then claimed her sister was a journalist covering defense-related matters and made Jha share photographs of several military establishments in the national capital. He was asked to install a net camera for capturing these images which he sent along with location tags.

During the interrogation, investigators found that Jha had shared sensitive information, including images, and videos via online chats with a suspected Pakistani handler stationed in the neighbouring country.

Consequently, the police have filed charges against Jha under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with various sections of the IPC and Official Secrets Act.

According to PTI, a local court remanded him to police custody till September 6.

(With PTI Inputs)

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