Assam spy case: IAF staffer held with jet, missile images from Chabua base

Guwahati, March 24: Investigators probing an alleged espionage case involving an Indian Air Force employee have recovered images of fighter jets, missiles and location details of the Chabua Air Force Station in Assam from the accused’s mobile phone.

Sumit Kumar (36), a resident of Uttar Pradesh working as Multi-Tasking Staff at the Chabua Air Force Station in Dibrugarh district, is accused of sharing sensitive defence information since 2023 in exchange for money.

“When we checked his mobile phone, we found shared photographs of aircrafts, missiles, and location coordinates from Dibrugarh’s Chabua base. On this basis, the accused appears to have secured monetary benefits from Pakistani endeavours,” Advocate Sudesh Sattavan, associated with the case, said on Tuesday.

Investigators have also traced financial transactions running into lakhs of rupees to Kumar’s bank account, with the exact amount still under scrutiny.

The probe suggests he remained in constant contact with alleged Pakistan handlers through social media and even helped create accounts for them using mobile numbers issued in his name.

Kumar was arrested on March 22 from Chabua during a joint operation by Air Force Intelligence and Rajasthan Intelligence.

The arrest is linked to an earlier case involving one Jhabara Ram, detained in Rajasthan in January, which reportedly helped agencies uncover a wider network leading to the Assam-based Air Force station.

Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Prafull Kumar had earlier indicated that the case points to a broader espionage network allegedly backed by Pakistan, with further links under investigation.

Following his detention, Kumar was taken to the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur, where multiple intelligence agencies are jointly questioning him.

A court has granted 10 days of remand, and he is scheduled to be produced again on April 2.

A case has been registered under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

Officials said the developments indicate a potentially significant breach, with efforts underway to identify additional collaborators and map the full extent of the network.

This marks the second such arrest from Assam in three months and the fourth from the Northeast, signalling a worrying pattern.

In December, security agencies had arrested three suspected spies across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, including a retired Indian Air Force staffer from Tezpur, for alleged links with Pakistan-based intelligence operatives.

In Assam, Tezpur Police had arrested Kulendra Sharma, a resident of Patiachuburi under Tezpur Sadar Police Station, on charges of espionage. Sharma, who had served at the Tezpur Air Force Station before retiring in 2002, was later employed in the electronics department at Tezpur University.