The Kutch Police apprehended four youths, including one minor, on Saturday on suspicion of spying on behalf of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI. They have been identified as Hajam Mamadrafik, Sumra Arbaz Ismail, Padeiyar Abas and a 17-year-old minor.

Saurabh Tolambiya, Superintendent of Police, Kutch (West) said, “We have found information on their phones and they haven’t been able to give valid reasons for keeping them.”

The four accused has been booked under section 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war), section 120B (conspiracy) and the Official Secrets Act for allegedly sending critical information about defence instalments to an unidentified person in Pakistan. They are residents of Abdasa taluka of Kutch district.

When asked if the accused received anything in exchange for sending information, police said that these things are still being probed. “Prima facie, they have been arrested on the basis of suspicion. The other aspect of this case is a matter of investigation which the Special Operation Group (SOG) is doing,” the SP said.

Among the arrested, Mamadrafik is a barber and Ismail runs a mobile shop, while the other two are students of a private school.

This is not the first time that such a case of espionage has come to light. Last month, the Andhra Pradesh police jointly with the Naval intelligence had arrested thirteen people, including eleven Navy personnel and two civilians. It had been revealed that they were honey-trapped by the Pakistani ISI operatives on social media after which these men had leaked sensitive information related to the Indian Navy through their social media profiles.

In January, it was revealed that one Army jawan named Sepoy Somveer Singh, who was arrested four months back on charges of espionage in Jaiselmer, got in touch with one ‘Anika Chopra’ over Facebook and was chatting regularly with her and exchanging details and information about the armoured unit including its movement. Following this, multiple accounts of officers and jawans are under probe with whom ‘Anika Chopra’ was in touch with.

Recently, a suspected Pakistani spy was arrested from Arunachal Pradesh border who had allegedly passed sensitive information about Army deployment and location, weapons information and number of Artillery installations in Kibithu to his Dubai based handler.

In October last year, an Indian Army soldier of Meerut Cantonment was caught and several others detained by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad on the charges of espionage activities carried out on the directions of the infamous ISI.