9 more held in 'spying' probe, had put up CCTV cams at railway stations

Ghaziabad: Nine more people were taken into custody for allegedly filming and sharing information about various locations in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with 'handlers' based in Pakistan, taking the total number of suspects rounded up in the purported espionage case that came to light last week to 15.Police said at least two solar-powered, SIM-enabled CCTV cameras were installed by this group. On Wednesday, one was taken down from Sonipat railway station. After the first round of arrests, a similar device was found and seized at Delhi Cantonment station.Among the nine apprehended, on the back of the six arrests on March 14, are five minors. Interrogation of the six suspects led them to the others, police said. A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to carry the probe forward.Among the accused are Ganesh Giri (20), a Nepal citizen, Vivek Rai (18) from Bihar, Gagan Kumar Prajapati (22) from Meerut, and Durgesh Nishad (26) from Jaunpur. The five minors are between 15 and 17 and are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Those arrested on March 14 were Suhai Malik (23) from Bijnor, Sane Iram (25) from Ghaziabad, Raj Valmiki (19) from Auraiya, Siva Valmiki (20) from Badaun, and Ritik Gangwar (23) from Shahjahanpur.The intel, according to police, came from beat constable Vinesh Chaudhary, who received information during routine beat patrolling that some suspicious individuals in the Bhowapur area of Ghaziabad were installing solar-powered CCTV cameras in the Delhi Cantonment area. The follow-up probe found that the photos and videos were sent to a Pakistani mobile number via WhatsApp in exchange for payments that were made through UPI.Additional CP Raj Karan Nayyar told TOI two suspects who police believe to be the main organisers of this group, Naushad Ali and Sameer alias Shooter, are absconding. Both are from Bihar.