As many as 14 Pakistani spies were either arrested or neutralized in various states across the country during the last three years, the government said on Tuesday. There were also 49 Indians who were arrested for espionage during this period, taking the total arrests to 63 for such activities.
Replying to a question on the issue, Minister of State for Home Jitendra Prasad said in a written reply to the Parliament: “Out of 63 agents, 53 were neutralised in the border states (Rajasthan-9, Himachal Pradesh-3, Uttar Pradesh-5, Punjab-24, Jammu and Kashmir-1, Maharashtra-1, Tripura-2, Bihar-1 and Uttarakhand-3). Among them, 49 were Indians and 14 Pakistani nationals.”
He said 26 agents were arrested in 2009, 18 in 2010, 14 in 2011 and five between January and August 20, this year. “Out of the 63 arrested agents, three were found to have been involved in criminal activities such as being in possession of illegal arms and Fake Indian Currency Notes,” he said.
The Government is pursuing a well-coordinated and multi-pronged approach to tackle espionage activities including strengthening of border management to check illegal cross border activities, strengthening of state and central intelligence machinery and upgrade of police and security forces with advanced sophisticated weapons and communication system, he added.
