Smita Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 25

A suspected Pakistan agent arrested in Uttarakhand’s Pitthoragarh is believed to have been working with the Indian Defence Attaché at the Indian High Commission, The Tribune has learnt.

The suspected spy, Ramesh Singh Kanyal, landed the job through his brother, reportedly an Indian army jawan. A senior Indian official allegedly hired him to work as a domestic help in 2015, when he was posted to the defence attaché in Islamabad.

Uttar Pradesh Assistant Director General (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said on Friday that J&K Military Intelligence Unit, Uttarakhand Police and Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested Singh from his house in Pitthoragarh in a joint operation on Wednesday.

“Ramesh is not very educated, but he used to go through the laptop, diaries and other files to pass on information to ISI agents. He had a debt of around Rs 9 lakh from banks and private people that he paid back after coming back to India in 2017,” Kumar said.

Ramesh, who returned to Indian in 2017, runs a Public Distribution System shop in Didihat at Bilmara village near the Nepal border. He was allegedly paid $1,300 for spying for Inter-Services Intelligence.

He would also pass on confidential information about army installations in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand to his Pakistani handlers.

“We have brought him on a transit remand to Lucknow and are questioning him about how he paid his loans back, and whether the ISI paid him more money, “ Kumar said.

Investigators are believed to have been keeping an eye on Singh after Aftab, another suspected spy arrested from Faizabad earlier this year, mentioned his name during questioning.
Investigators said they found a SIM card and a mobile phone of Pakistani make with Kanyal, and are now going through his call records.

The Pakistan High Commission in India has yet to respond to the developments.