63 Indian, Pak agents held for spying: Govt

As many as 63 Indians and Pakistani espionage agents were neutralised from various states across the country during the last three years, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

"Out of 63 agents, 53 were neutralised in the border states (Rajasthan-9, Himachal Pradesh-3, Uttar Pradesh-5, Punjab-24, Jammu and Kashmir-1, Maharashtra-1, Tripura-2, Bihar-1 and Uttarakhand-3). Among them, 49 were Indians and 14 Pakistani nationals," Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh said in a written reply.

He said 26 agents were arrested in 2009, 18 in 2010, 14 in 2011 and five between January and August 20, this year.

"Out of the 63 arrested agents, three were found to have been involved in criminal activities such as being in
possession of illegal arms and Fake Indian Currency Notes," he said.

The Government is pursuing a well-coordinated and multi-pronged approach to tackle espionage activities
including strengthening of border management to check illegal cross border activities, strengthening of state and central intelligence machinery and upgradation of police and security forces with advanced sophisticated weapons and communication system, he added.