Kutch: Following the elimination of a suspected Pakistani infiltrator at the Banaskantha border by the BSF on Friday night, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a suspected Pakistani spy from Dayapar village in the Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district on Saturday. The accused has been identified as Sahdevsinh Deepubha Gohil, who was working as a multipurpose health worker on a contractual basis at the Mata-na-Madh Primary Health Centre.
This marks the third such arrest from Gujarat for alleged spying in the past 8 months. According to ATS officials, Gohil was caught sharing sensitive information related to the Indian Army, including videos and photos of BSF and Indian Navy infrastructure projects, via WhatsApp. He was reportedly sending this information to a Pakistani agent.
In June-July 2023, Gohil came into contact with a woman named Aditi Bhardwaj through WhatsApp, who was later revealed to be a Pakistani agent. Aditi assigned him tasks to collect and send visuals of construction activities at BSF and Navy sites in his region. Gohil compiled and shared multiple photos and videos through WhatsApp.
To carry out this communication, Gohil procured a new SIM card using his Aadhaar card and activated WhatsApp on it. He then shared the OTP with Aditi, giving her access to the account. He used this number to maintain contact and send classified information. He shared three to four videos and photos, some of which were later deleted. Forensic experts are currently working to recover the deleted content.
Investigations revealed that Gohil started spying activities over a year ago and had once received Rs. 40,000 in cash for his services. Preliminary analysis found that two of the phone numbers involved in communication were being operated from Pakistan.
The ATS detained Gohil on May 1 after an investigation involving both technical surveillance and human intelligence inputs, corroborated by central intelligence agencies. He has since been formally arrested. Both Gohil and Aditi Bharadwaj were charged under Sections 61 (criminal conspiracy) and 148 (waging or abetting war against the government) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.