Pathankot Man Arrested For Spying

Punjab Police said on May 22 that it had arrested a Pathankot man accused of installing an internet-linked CCTV camera on National Highway-44 to monitor Indian Army and paramilitary movement and transmit the live feed to handlers in Pakistan. The accused, Baljit Singh, also known as Bittu, is a resident of Chakk Dhariwal village in Pathankot district, according to police statements carried by multiple Indian outlets. Senior police officer Daljinder Singh Dhillon said the camera had been placed at a shop near a bridge on the Pathankot-Jammu stretch near Sujanpur, a route frequently used by security forces. Police said a CCTV unit and a WiFi router were recovered. ### Who is the man police arrested in Pathankot? Baljit Singh, alias Bittu, was identified by police as the man arrested in the case on May 22. Police said he is from Chakk Dhariwal village in Pathankot district and was detained after intelligence inputs about suspicious activity along the highway corridor. (ndtv.com) Pathankot Police said in a post on X that officers had made “a major breakthrough” by busting a module linked to national security concerns and arresting one accused for installing a CCTV camera whose live feed was being shared with “anti-national elements.” That post was dated May 21, one day before wider media reports on the arrest. (ndtv.com) ### Where was the camera installed, and why does that location matter? National Highway-44 is the main road link between Pathankot and Jammu, and police said the camera was installed near a bridge-side shop on that corridor close to Sujanpur. Investigators allege the placement allowed the device to capture movement of Army and paramilitary convoys using the route. (timesnownews.com) Daljinder Singh Dhillon said the live surveillance feed was transmitted electronically to operatives in Pakistan and abroad. Police have not publicly detailed how long the feed was active, but they said Baljit Singh told investigators he had installed the internet-based camera in January. ### What do police say Baljit Singh admitted? (ndtv.com) January is the month police say Baljit Singh chose to install the camera and router setup. According to police accounts reported by NDTV, The New Indian Express and others, he told investigators he had acted on directions from an unidentified person based in Dubai. (ndtv.com) Rs 40,000 is the amount police said he received in connection with the operation. Authorities have presented that payment, along with the alleged remote instructions, as part of their case that the surveillance was organized rather than incidental. ### Were other people named in the case? Four people were named in the case, according to police statements reported on May 22. (ndtv.com) Besides Baljit Singh, police named Vikramjit Singh, also known as Vikka, Balwinder Singh, also known as Vicky, and Taranpreet Singh, also known as Tannu. Pathankot Police said raids were underway to arrest the remaining accused. (ndtv.com) Some reports also said two alleged accomplices in related espionage investigations were already in jail, but police statements directly tied to this case focused on the three additional accused named in the first information and the ongoing search for them. ### Is this part of a wider CCTV spying investigation in Punjab? Punjab Police said last month it had busted two espionage modules allegedly backed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, and involving CCTV surveillance of sensitive military locations. Reports on the Pathankot arrest said those earlier cases involved solar-powered cameras and live transmission of footage to Pakistan-based handlers through mobile applications. (ndtv.com) May 2026 has brought several arrests in India tied to alleged cross-border espionage cases, according to local media reports, but police have not yet publicly laid out a formal link between the Pathankot case and every other recent arrest. What they have said is that the Pathankot investigation is continuing to map cross-border connections and trace the source of funding. (ndtv.com) ### What happens next in the investigation? Pathankot Police said a detailed report had been sent to senior authorities and that technical investigation into the camera links was continuing. Police also said they were reviewing the foreign connection, including the alleged Dubai-based contact and the claimed Pakistan-based recipients of the feed. (ndtv.com) The next visible step is likely to be the arrest or questioning of the three other named accused and further disclosure by Punjab Police or Pathankot district officers. As of May 23, authorities had said raids were continuing and the funding trail behind the alleged surveillance setup remained under investigation. (ndtv.com)