Multiple teams of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) are on Saturday conducting searches in Delhi, Chandigarh and Kolkata, days after arresting an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for allegedly sharing classified information with intelligence officers in Pakistan.
Earlier this week, the NIA said it had arrested CRPF ASI Moti Ram Jat from Delhi and was questioning him. The central agency alleged that he shared classified information with Pakistani agents, who posed as TV journalists, and was taking funds from them. He was posted with a CRPF battalion in J&K’s Pahalgam and was transferred to Delhi five days before the April 22 terror attack on the tourist destination in which 26 civilians lost their lives.
On Saturday, a NIA spokesperson said, “We are conducting searches in 15 locations and will share further information later.”
During questioning, Jat claimed that he was allegedly approached by a woman posing as a Chandigarh-based news reporter from a leading TV news channel, who requested that he share some information. “After some messages and phone calls, including over video, Jat allegedly started sharing classified documents with her. After two-three months, a man, a Pakistan intelligence officer, started talking to him, posing as a journalist of the same news channel,” said a CRPF source.
“After one or two months, they started giving Rs 3,500 to him on the fourth day of every month, and also Rs 12,000 for crucial information. He received the money in his and his wife’s accounts,” claimed the source.
He was remanded in the agency’s custody until June 6 by the Special Court at Patiala House Courts. “We have arrested Jat. He was actively involved in espionage activity and had been sharing classified information related to national security with PIOs (Pakistani intelligence officers) since 2023. We have also found that he was receiving funds from the PIOs through various conduits,” an NIA spokesperson said.
He has been dismissed from service. A CRPF spokesperson said Jat was found to have violated established norms and protocols during “sustained monitoring” of his social media activity in coordination with central agencies.
