Punjab man arrested for spying; installed CCTV camera, shared Army movements with Pakistan handlers

CHANDIGARH/PATHANKOT: A resident of Punjab’s Pathankot has been arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan-based handlers, police said on Friday.Preliminary investigation found that Baljit Singh, a resident of Chakk Dhariwal village, had installed a CCTV camera at a shop near a bridge on National Highway-44, allegedly to monitor the movement of Army and paramilitary forces, police said.They added that he was reportedly transmitting the live feed to handlers based in Pakistan.During questioning, the accused confessed that he had installed an internet-based CCTV camera at a shop on the Pathankot–Jammu section of NH-44 in January.Police said he was also receiving directions from an unidentified person based in Dubai and had been paid Rs 40,000.The CCTV camera was recovered from his possession, they added.Notably, last month, police had busted two ISI-backed espionage modules allegedly operating from Pakistan, which used high-tech, China-made solar-powered CCTV cameras to transmit live feeds of sensitive military locations to Pakistan-based handlers.(With agency inputs)