Nine more people have been taken into custody in connection with a Pakistan-linked spy racket involving the filming and sharing of sensitive locations in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with handlers based in Pakistan, taking the total number of accused to 15. Police said the group had installed at least two solar-powered, SIM-enabled CCTV cameras. One such device was removed from Sonipat railway station on Wednesday, while another was earlier recovered from Delhi Cantonment station.
Of the nine newly apprehended, five are minors aged between 15 and 17. Police said the arrests were made after the interrogation of six suspects, who were held on March 14. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has now been formed to probe the case further.
The accused include Ganesh Giri (20), a Nepal national; Vivek Rai (18) from Bihar; Gagan Kumar Prajapati (22) from Meerut; and Durgesh Nishad (26) from Jaunpur. Those arrested earlier include 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.
UPI Payments To Film Defence Sites, Railway Stations
According to police, the case originated from a tip-off received by beat constable Vinesh Chaudhary during routine patrolling in Ghaziabad’s Bhowapur area. The probe revealed that images and videos of key locations were allegedly being sent to a Pakistani mobile number via WhatsApp in exchange for payments made through UPI.
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The group first made contact with the Pakistani number through a WhatsApp group, police said. Once in, they were tasked to recruit more members willing to share sensitive information for money — paid Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per assignment. Acting on instructions from the Pakistani number, the accused filmed sensitive locations including railway stations, RPF and GRP deployment points, and offices of security agencies across NCR and Mumbai, sending back photos, videos and exact location data.
Additional CP Raj Karan Nayyar said two key suspects, identified as Naushad Ali and Sameer alias Shooter, are absconding. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest them.
