Jammu, June 2 (IANS) A youth has been arrested from Jammu’s Makwal village, near the International Border, for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) after falling prey to a honeytrap.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Jammu, Joginder Singh, said that whether it is the Pakistan Army, ISI or the entire ecosystem, “their efforts have always been to disrupt peace in Jammu and Kashmir.”

“They use social media and other tools to push our youths towards drugs; honey-trap and radicalise them,” he told IANS.

He pointed out that boundaries between nations do not matter in the world of social media. “Therefore, the online platforms are an easy access (to influence the youth),” he said.

Singh added that some of the youth, even if their number is as low as 0.01 per cent, fall prey to such antics.

However, he said that security agencies are constantly monitoring such activities. “We are identifying them and keeping an eye on them. We trace them (influenced youths) and try to counsel them to mend their ways.”

He added that further investigation is underway to identify the other people in the network.

The accused’s mother said that though her son spent a lot of time on mobile phones, she did not know how he came under Pakistan’s influence or how he allegedly passed sensitive information to them.

In a similar case, Punjab Police had arrested a man from Pathankot town on charges of spying for Pakistan-based handlers, officials said on May 22.

During questioning, the accused, Baljit Singh, revealed that the entire operation was being directed by a handler operating from Dubai. For espionage, he was given Rs 40,000.

This was the third trans-border espionage module busted by the police in less than a month.

Baljit Singh, a resident of Chakk Dhariwal village, had installed a CCTV camera at a shop located along the National Highway 44 to keep tabs on the movement of the army and paramilitary forces, and was transmitting the live feed to Pakistan-based handlers, a police official said.

During questioning, the accused confessed to the crime and said he installed an internet-based CCTV camera in January.

–IANS

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