New Delhi, April 13 : The ISI-backed espionage module, which the Ghaziabad Police first busted, had surveyed sensitive locations such as naval facilities and airport zones in Mumbai. They were in the process of installing solar-powered CCTV cameras at these locations and were planning to send the live feed to their handlers in Pakistan.

An investigating official said that the module was not just limited to conducting a reconnaissance in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. They had a reach up to Maharashtra as well. The questioning of the prime accused, Suhail Malik, revealed that he was working as a daily wager at a bakery. In reality, he was on the ISI's payroll.

While residing in Pune, Malik had transmitted information about sensitive locations both in Pune and Mumbai. Following this, he moved to Ghaziabad and continued to work for the ISI. He had been heading the espionage module that was busted by the Ghaziabad police.

The espionage module had managed to set up solar-powered CCTVs at railway stations and other crowded locations. The agencies are now closely probing the activities undertaken by this module in Mumbai and Pune. Malik was in Mumbai for five years between 2020 and 2025. During this period, he had conducted a reconnaissance of several locations and provided the ISI with information.

An official said that the targets of this module were largely Army cantonment areas, railway stations and the movement of the security personnel. The official added that the probe suggests that these persons were focusing heavily on the Indian Railways.

The espionage module was entrusted with only providing information and was not involved in planning any attack. The ISI was in the process of setting up another module to carry out attacks at railway stations and Army cantonment areas.

Another official noted that the cameras to capture live feed were not set up overnight. It has been in the works for several years, and now the security agencies are analysing the extent of information that has been passed on. This module was providing information at a very low cost to the ISI so that attacks could be carried out at multiple locations over a period of time. The scale of this operation was massive, and the busting of this module has managed to avert a major catastrophe, an official noted.

Suhail, according to investigators, was paid Rs 8,000 to install each CCTV camera. He has managed to install it at multiple locations over the years, investigating officials have learnt. This new playbook of the ISI to gather live feed from sensitive and crowded locations has prompted a thorough audit of CCTV cameras being sold.

Following the busting of this module, the Maharashtra government has ordered an audit of CCTV systems. Further, the procurement of CCTV cameras linked to Chinese companies has been put on hold. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority will now have to obtain police clearance before putting up surveillance systems.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the module had a wide reach and had managed to procure sensitive information from many states. The police personnel of these respective states would need to coordinate and gather as much information as possible. This cannot be viewed as an isolated module that was just gathering information.

It is equally important that the agencies learn about what has been done with the data collected and how the ISI was looking to use it, the official also added.

/IANS