KANGRA: In a fresh development in the espionage case that has shaken Himachal Pradesh, the police have uncovered sensitive digital evidence from the mobile phone of 20-year-old Abhishek Bhardwaj, arrested two days ago for allegedly spying for Pakistan.
The youth, a resident of Sukhar in the Dehra subdivision of Kangra, was remanded in five-day police custody on Thursday following a court appearance.
As part of the investigation, forensic teams analysing Bhardwaj’s seized smartphone have retrieved a number of deleted files and encrypted communications.
Police manage to retrieve deleted data
According to Dehra Superintendent of Police Mayank Chaudhary, some of the recovered content includes location-tagged images of restricted areas, PDF documents believed to contain internal military information and chat logs with contacts using pseudonyms and foreign numbers.
“There were attempts to delete crucial data minutes before his arrest,” SP Chaudhary confirmed. “Despite that, our forensic team has managed to retrieve files that strongly support our suspicion of espionage activity.”
The phone has now been sent to an advanced cyber-forensics lab for deeper extraction and decoding of metadata, chats, and browser history.
Facebook profile reveals disturbing patterns
Investigators have also flagged Bhardwaj’s social media activity as highly suspicious. His Facebook profile — now locked —showed a network of contacts, many of whom appear to be based in foreign nations, particularly in West Asia.
A striking number of these profiles displayed weapons, Arabic or Urdu names, and were either private or had restricted visibility.
Of particular interest to investigators is a photo and video Bhardwaj uploaded shortly before his arrest. The image, stylised with bullets and assault rifles arranged around his name, is being studied for its origin and intent. Whether it was created by the youth himself or shared from another encrypted group is yet to be determined.
From college dropout to prime accused in security breach
Bhardwaj, described as a college dropout with limited social engagement in his hometown, is believed to have been operating under digital anonymity.
Police sources suggest that he may have been recruited through online platforms or dark web forums. There are also indications that he may have used VPN services to mask his internet activity.
This is the first known case in Himachal Pradesh where an individual has been arrested under suspicion of espionage with links to a foreign nation. The Intelligence Bureau and central security agencies have been alerted and may take over parts of the investigation depending on what the remand period reveals.
TNR
