Army spies passed on crucial details from Srinagar and Leh

NEW DELHI: Soldiers Anil Kumar Dubey and Ritesh Kumar Vishwakarma, who were picked up last week on charges of spying for Pakistani agencies, compromised serious military details from Srinagar and Leh.

The full extent of the damage, however, will be known only after forensic analysis of the pen-drives recovered from them, sources told DNA.

The Intelligence Bureau has now asked Military Intelligence to carry out a “damage assessment” to know how much data was passed on by the duo to their Pakistani contacts. Based on preliminary assessments, senior intelligence officers told DNA that the leak looks “very serious”.

Sources said Dubey and Vishwakarma were targeted in a systematic manner — one was posted in an important signal unit in Leh and the other was with a critical unit in Srinagar.

Dubey, who was working with the Delhi-based Army Group Insurance Directorate, was in Srinagar till June.

Intelligence sources said he was posted in the Management Information Cell of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, which is responsible for counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir valley and for guarding the Line of Control in Kupwara and Baramulla.

Vishwakarma was with a signal unit in the Leh-based 14 Corps, with access to sensitive information because of his posting. The 14 Corps looks after military deployment along Kargil-Leh and in Siachen.

Vishwakarma was found to have photographed several installations, and a roll of film was recovered from him. “They are sophisticated operatives, not mere soldiers,” a senior officer said, referring to the duo’s use of pen-drives.

Officers said the two seem to be isolated cases, and no further links within the military have emerged yet.