GHAZIABAD: Six persons, including a woman, were arrested for allegedly filming and sharing “sensitive” details of railway stations, security establishments and other public locations in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with a Pakistani mobile number.The arrests in Kaushambi come just days after police in nearby Masuri picked up six men for allegedly watching and circulating videos linked to banned Pakistan-based terror groups.The six who were picked up for sharing photos were Suhai Malik (23) from Bijnor; Sane Iram (25) alias Mehak from Kaushambi; Raj Valmiki (19) from Auraiya; Siva Valmiki (20) from Badaun; and Ritik Gangwar (23) from Shahjahanpur. Police said the six were traced after a tip-off about a group filming public places and offices of security agencies on their phones.
Raj Karan Nayyar, additional CP, said that during questioning and a scan of their devices, police found that “multiple photos had been sent to a foreign number”. ACP Indirapuram Abhishek Srivastava said the group allegedly shared “location details and photographs of places with a Pakistani number through WhatsApp”, and that several calls had also been made to that number.According to police, the accused had been filming and sharing the sensitive data for the past few months, acting on instructions received through the number and against a commission for each assignment. “Prima facie, they were paid Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per task,” an officer said, adding that the chats found on their phone contained images from several locations in NCR and Mumbai, though some material had been deleted.Police said the group first came into contact with the Pakistani number through a WhatsApp group and was then asked to recruit others willing to share sensitive information for money.A police source said the accused had also installed a camera at Delhi Cantt railway station a few months ago and passed on information related to the area around it. The source added that details of not just railway stations in NCR, but RPF and GRP deployments as well as public places, defence areas and govt offices in Mumbai, were allegedly shared. “Govt agencies have been alerted regarding the arrests and fundings.” An officer said.An FIR was registered against the six at Kaushambi police station under Sections 152 (acts endangering the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of BNS and sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act. Police said eight mobile phones were recovered and further investigation is under way.Police said that they were trying to link the arrests made over the past week. In the earlier Masuri case, six men, including an advocate and a madrasa teacher, were charged under UAPA for allegedly following banned terror outfits online and sharing related videos on WhatsApp.
