Spy ring accused helped Pak get Indian SIM cards

QUESTIONING of a dozen people arrested in Punjab and Haryana on charges of allegedly spying for Pakistan has revealed a new trend of their ISI handlers procuring Indian SIM cards from them to call junior-level police officers for information about Indian troop movement during Operation Sindoor, central intelligence agency sources said.

- HARPREET BAJWA @Chandigarh

The handlers reportedly impersonated senior officers from the Indian defence establishment and other agencies. They also used the SIMs to try to honey-trap officers or soldiers and blackmail them with recorded videos of sensitive information. Sources in the central intelligence agencies stated that the interrogation of the arrested individuals revealed a common factor: they all became involved in espionage activities after coming into contact with officials of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

They reportedly confessed that High Commission staff had asked them several times to procure Indian SIM cards in return for visa facilitation.