Punjab Man Arrested for Sending Army Movement Footage to Pakistan via CCTV

The Punjab Police have uncovered a suspected espionage network allegedly linked to Pakistan and arrested a man accused of sharing sensitive information related to the movement of the Indian Army and paramilitary forces along a strategic highway route in Punjab. The accused, identified as Baljit Singh alias Bittu, is a resident of Chakk Dhariwal village in Pathankot district. Officials said he had installed a CCTV camera near a bridge on the Pathankot-Jammu stretch of National Highway-44 to monitor military activity and transmit footage to handlers operating from Pakistan and abroad.

According to police officials, Baljit Singh had set up an internet-enabled CCTV surveillance system at a shop near Sujanpur in January this year. The surveillance feed was allegedly transmitted electronically to foreign-based operatives monitoring troop and vehicle movement in the sensitive border region. Senior police officer Daljinder Singh Dhillon said the accused confessed during questioning that he had installed the camera following instructions received from an unidentified individual based in Dubai and had allegedly received Rs 40,000 for carrying out the operation.

Police recovered the CCTV camera along with an internet WiFi router from the accused during the investigation. Authorities said the action followed intelligence inputs regarding suspicious activities along the Pathankot-Jammu highway corridor. Based on preliminary findings, the Sujanpur Police registered a case against four individuals in connection with the alleged espionage network. Apart from Baljit Singh, the accused named in the case include Vikramjit Singh alias Vikka, Balwinder Singh alias Vicky, and Taranpreet Singh alias Tannu. Police described the suspects as being involved in anti-national and criminal activities.

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Investigators are now attempting to trace the broader cross-border network and identify the financial channels allegedly used to support the espionage activities. Officials confirmed that raids are underway to arrest the remaining accused and gather further evidence regarding the foreign handlers involved in the case. A detailed report has also been sent to senior authorities as security agencies intensify surveillance in border districts amid concerns over increasing attempts to gather sensitive defense-related information through technological means.

The latest arrest comes weeks after Punjab Police claimed to have dismantled two separate espionage modules allegedly backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Those operations, conducted in Jalandhar and Kapurthala, involved the recovery of China-made solar-powered and SIM-based CCTV cameras allegedly used to transmit live footage of military and defense-related locations to handlers based in Pakistan. Police said the devices operated through 4G connectivity and solar power, allowing covert surveillance in remote locations without requiring conventional electrical infrastructure.

Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav had earlier stated that such surveillance systems were strategically installed near sensitive defense sites to monitor troop movement and military infrastructure. In one of the earlier cases, officials alleged that a Pakistan-based handler identified as “Fauji” had financed the installation of surveillance equipment and was also linked to cross-border drug smuggling operations involving drone deliveries. Authorities believe the recent cases highlight evolving espionage methods involving low-cost technology and are expected to strengthen counter-intelligence monitoring across Punjab’s border regions.

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