Saturday, March 29, 2025
In a major breakthrough, Gujarat Police have arrested a Pakistani spy operating out of Jalandhar, Punjab. The accused, identified as Mohammad Murtaza Ali, had reportedly developed a custom mobile application to collect and transmit news content from Indian television channels to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI.
The operation unfolded around 1 a.m. on the night of May 14–15, when a team from Gujarat Police arrived in Jalandhar. In coordination with the Bhargav Camp Police, they raided a residence in Avtar Nagar and apprehended Ali. Authorities seized four mobile phones and three SIM cards from his possession.
According to initial reports, Murtaza Ali was deeply involved in transmitting sensitive news from Indian television channels — many of which are banned in Pakistan — directly to ISI handlers. He would upload content, including live news updates, through the self-designed application and had even sought significant payments from Pakistani contacts to support its development and operations.
Sources revealed that after the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent rise in India-Pakistan tensions, Pakistan had imposed restrictions on broadcasting Indian news channels. However, Ali continued to access and share the content with the Pakistani agency. This allowed ISI to monitor internal developments in India through unofficial channels.
Investigators disclosed that Ali was residing in a rented house in Jalandhar’s Gandhi Nagar area but had recently purchased a 25-marla plot there. He was reportedly building a luxurious house on the property, with an estimated expenditure of ₹1.5 crore. A financial audit of his bank account revealed transactions worth over ₹40 lakh in a single month, further raising suspicions of foreign funding.
This arrest comes shortly after another Pakistani spy, Nauman Elahi, was nabbed in Panipat, Haryana. Ongoing investigations have linked him to ISI handler Iqbal alias Kana, who allegedly recruited him two years ago with a focus on gathering intelligence from Punjab and Haryana. Both arrests suggest a broader espionage network active in northern India, using technology and covert funding to gather intelligence.
