CRPF jawan, posted in Pahalgam before terror attack, arrested for ‘spying’ for Pakistan. Who is he?

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan has been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for allegedly sharing sensitive details with Pakistan intelligence officers.

The jawan, identified as Moti Ram Jat, was said to be involved in spying and had been sharing important information related to national security with Pakistan intelligence officers (PIOs) since 2023, according to officials.

The Special Court at Patiala House has sent him to NIA custody until June 6.

ALSO READ | How YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra ‘spied’ for Pakistan: From Pahalgam visit to ties with Pak officials

Notably, security agencies have been stepping up their actions against espionage. In the past two weeks, more than 15 people have been arrested from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh after the terror attack in Pahalgam.

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Who is the CRPF jawan, and what kind of information did he share? What steps are security agencies taking against espionage activities? We explain below.

Here’s a look:

Who is Moti Ram Jat?

The NIA arrested CRPF jawan Moti Ram Jat for allegedly sharing sensitive details linked to national security with Pakistan intelligence officers in exchange for money since 2023, according to officials.

Sources told CNN-News18 that Jat was serving as an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) in the 116th Battalion of the CRPF before being transferred.

The NIA, which arrested him in Delhi, said Jat had been receiving money from Pakistani officials through different routes. He is currently being questioned.

He was sent to NIA custody until June 6 by the Special Court at Patiala House. On the same day, the CRPF dismissed him from service with immediate effect.

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According to reports, Jat made contact with Pakistani handlers through social media.

Investigators found that a Pakistani handler transferred several lakh rupees to the bank account of his wife.

The CRPF launched an internal inquiry after noticing unusual online activity following “Operation Sindoor.” After four days of questioning, Jat was removed from service and handed over to the NIA on May 21.

The agency has accused him of passing on intelligence about security force movements and the locations of key installations to Pakistani handlers.

He has been booked under sections 15 (pertaining to terror act), 16 (punishment for terror act), and 18 (conspiracy and related acts) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Hindustan Times reported.

Notably, the CRPF is the country’s largest paramilitary force. In Jammu and Kashmir, it is responsible for counter-terrorism and maintaining public order.

Reports claimed Jat was “ honey-trapped” in 2023. Pakistani officials, pretending to be a woman, contacted him on social media and later obtained details such as convoy movements, The Hindu reported.

“During the monitoring, it was found that ₹3,000 had been deposited in his (the Assistant Sub-Inspector’s) account per month from a foreign account, which raised the red flags,” an official told the publication.

Did he have links to the Pahalgam terror attack?

Moti Ram Jat is being questioned by NIA officials, who are looking into how far the espionage network reaches and whether he has any connection to the Pahalgam attack, reports said.

The claims come at a time when he had recently been posted in Pahalgam. Six days after his transfer, terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists, killing 26 people.

Following the attack, India carried out Operation Sindoor early on May 7. The operation targeted terror-related sites and camps linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen inside Pakistan.

Sources told ThePrint that senior CRPF officers had questioned Moti Ram Jat over his suspicious social media activity.

India’s espionage crackdown

The arrest and sacking of the CRPF Assistant Sub-Inspector comes at a time when police forces across several states are stepping up efforts to track those accused of passing secret information to Pakistani handlers for money, and individuals pushing Pakistan’s terror propaganda in Jammu and Kashmir.

This month, at least 19 people have been arrested by police in Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

The charges range from leaking sensitive defence-related information to maintaining contact with Pakistani nationals who used illegal means to gather intelligence.

Initial investigations suggest a Pakistan-supported spy network operating across northern India.

Among those arrested are two women, Jyoti Malhotra, a Haryana resident with 3.77 lakh subscribers on YouTube and 1.33 lakh followers on Instagram, and 31-year-old Guzala from Punjab.

Both were allegedly in touch with a Pakistani officer named Ehsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish, who was posted at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Danish was expelled by India earlier this month. He was declared persona non grata after being linked to intelligence leaks in Punjab and carrying out activities that went against diplomatic norms.

Jyoti was sent to judicial custody on Monday after her police remand ended.

According to security agencies, she had been in contact with three Pakistani intelligence officials, particularly during times when India had imposed communication blackouts due to heightened alerts under ‘Operation Sindoor’.

With inputs from agencies