Who is Moti Ram Jat? CRPF personnel, arrested by NIA for spying, was posted in Pahalgam
Security personnel patrol the site of the terrorist attack on tourists in Baisaran near Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district | Reuters
Close on the heels of the arrest of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra and a health worker in Gujarat allegedly on charges of spying for Pakistan, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on Monday on espionage charges.
The NIA said that Moti Ram Jat, an assistant sub inspector with the CRPF, had been sharing classified information related to national security with the Pakistan intelligence officers (PIOs) since 2023, and he was getting funds from them through several conduits. He was arrested from Delhi, and is being questioned.
Jat reportedly served in the 116th Battalion. Reports say that he was posted in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and was transferred just six days before the terror attack on April 22, in which 26 people were killed.
The CRPF said he has been dismissed from service on May 21. He was handed over to the NIA for further inquiry.
Jat was produced before a special court at Patiala House, and has been remanded to the NIA custody till June 6.
He reportedly contacted Pakistani handlers via social media. But, it also proved to his undoing as he came under the scanner after the CRPF and central agencies started monitoring his social media activity closely. He was found to have "acted in violation of established norms and protocols", said the statement issued by the CRPF.
Post the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor, Indian security agencies have increased surveillance to tackle espionage attempts, which has led to the arrest of over 15 people from Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh in the last two weeks. Among them is Malhotra, a vlogger from Haryana, who has over three lakh subscribers on YouTube and over a lakh followers on Instagram. She was allegedly in contact with Pakistani officer Ehsan-ur-Rahim, aka Danish, an employee at the Pakistani High Commission, since November 2023. India expelled him on May 13 allegedly for espionage activities.
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