A civilian employee was arrested at the Chabua Air Force Station in Assam on Sunday for allegedly spying for Pakistan. Authorities have since identified the suspect as 36-year-old Sumit Kumar, who is believed to have shared sensitive Air Force intelligence to handlers, as reported by ANI.
His arrest has been attributed to the joint efforts of Air Force Intelligence, New Delhi, and a team from Rajasthan Intelligence. After his detention, Kumar was transferred to the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur. His arrest case was registered under various sections of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and the BNS, 2023.
What do we know about Sumit Kumar?
The 36-year-old suspect was working as a Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) at the Air Force Station in Chabua, Dibrugarh, Assam, at the time of his arrest.
Kumar ended up at the centre of a major operation, which traces its origins to January. As per an official news release, Prafulla Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), said that the Sumit was ultimately apprehended following the arrest of Jhabararam, a Jaisalmer resident, in January.
Authorities were able to catch Kumar following their interrogation of Jhabararam and dedicated investigation that lifted the kid on a wider espionage network highlighting alleged Pakistani contact. The official release has since highlighted that Kumar is believed to have been in constant contact with Pakistani intelligence agencies since 2023.
Investigators have since accused Kumar of sharing confidential information with the alleged Pakistani agency for monetary gain. As per the details of the interrogation revealed so far, the suspect didn’t just reportedly leak information about the Air Force Station in Chabua but also other military installations, including the Air Force Station in Nal (Bikaner district).
Kumar has been accused of divulging information related to the locations of fighter aircraft, missile systems and other confidential data linked to personnel, as per the news release.
Additionally, Sumit is said to have helped Pakistani handlers in creating social media accounts using mobile numbers registered under his own name.