Amritsar couple held on charges of spying for Pakistan

The Punjab police arrested Sukhpreet Kaur, her husband Surajpal Singh of Sandhra village.

Amritsar: A woman official in the Punjab Sale Tax department has been arrested along with her husband from neighbouring Tarn Taran district on charges of spying for Pakistan.

Police also suspect that the woman had links with Pakistan-based terror outfits and intelligence agencies. Secret documents and maps of sensitive Army locations in India were found in the possession of the couple who were arrested on Friday, Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Kamaljit Singh Dhillon said on Saturday. On a tip off, SHO, Bhikhiwind, Sukhdev Singh arrested Sukhpreet Kaur, working in Sale Tax department in Amritsar as a Junior Assistant, her husband Surajpal Singh of Sandhra village, who were allegedly in touch with a Pakistan-based smuggler. The couple used to often talk to the smuggler over phone besides passing off sensitive information to him, Dhillon claimed. He said that the couple had passed sensitive defence information like that of Army cantonment of Amritsar city, Attari/Wagah border and many important maps of Army cantonment areas. "The accused also passed on road maps, photographs of bridge of Harike, Beas, Goindwal Sahib and under-construction bridge of Lahaul Spiti. For this, the accused were given heroin and gold biscuits by the smuggler," he said. Police said that accused were residing near the Indo-Pak border area village Sandhra and Wan Tara Singh in district Tarn Taran, neighbouring Amritsar, and had agricultural land near the fencing on the international border with Pakistan. The Pakistan-based smugglers used to put the consignment of heroin and gold biscuits under the soil in their fields at a particular spot and later the accused used to retrieve the contraband from the spot after being informed about it, the SSP said. "The accused mostly adopted similar technique of sending secret information to Pakistan based agencies," he said. Police said Sukhpreet Kaur visited Pakistan thrice in 2006, 2007 and 2010 on pilgrim visas managed from SGPC Amritsar. During her visit to Pakistan, she allegedly came in contact with Pakistani agency and the smuggler, he said. "We suspect that the accused are having relations with Pakistan-based terror outfits and wanted terrorists of Punjab, who were still hiding in Pakistan," he said, adding, Sukhpreet Kaur`s brother was also the under scanner and was absconding. The arrested accused have been charged under the Official Secrets Act-1923 and under the provisions of the NDPS Act, the police officer said. PTI