Srinagar: Two men from the Kashmir Valley have been arrested in Arunachal Pradesh for allegedly spying for Pakistan, taking the total number of arrests in the espionage case to five, police officials said on Tuesday.

Police in Itanagar arrested Aijaz Ahmed Bhat and Bashir Ahmad Ganai, both residents of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, for allegedly collecting and sharing sensitive information with handlers based in Pakistan.

“The arrested persons have been identified as Aijaz Ahmed Bhat and Bashir Ahmad Ganai. With these two arrests, the total number of accused held in the espionage case has risen to five,” officials said, quoting IGP (Law & Order) Arunachal Pradesh, Chukhu Apa, who has told reporters that the arrests were made on December 18.

“The accused have been brought to the state (Arunachal Pradesh) from Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, and they are currently in our police custody. With this, the total number of arrests in the case has risen to five,” Apa said.

According to the police, the accused were allegedly collecting sensitive information from various parts of Arunachal Pradesh and passing it on to Pakistani handlers.

“We are waiting for the forensic report. The preliminary investigation revealed that they are sharing sensitive information with the handlers across the country. Our investigation is on, and further details will be rolled out during our investigation,” the IGP said.

Earlier, on November 21, the Itanagar police had arrested Nazir Ahmad Malik and Sabir Ahmed Mir, both residents of Kupwara district, after receiving credible information about their possible involvement in espionage activities.

Subsequently, another accused, Shabir Ahmed Khan, who also belongs to Kupwara, was arrested in Itanagar.

“We were working on credible intelligence inputs about a spy ring operating in Arunachal Pradesh. Under the leadership of Itanagar SP Jummar Basar, the team worked diligently and made these arrests. Two accused were arrested from Kupwara, while three were arrested from different locations in the Itanagar Capital Region,” the IGP told reporters.

The arrested individuals were mostly blanket sellers who travelled to different parts of the state to gather information, police said.

The IGP also appealed to residents to remain vigilant and verify documents before renting out their homes.

“I urge the people of Itanagar to check the documents and verify them from the police before letting anyone into your house for rent. If you don’t do that, then you will get into trouble," he said.