Both the personnel, believed to be accomplices of BrahMos engineer Nishant Agarwal arrested in Nagpur on Monday, were operating in association with him

LUCKNOW: In its attempt to smash the expanding espionage network being run by Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has trapped a number of Indian defence personnel for extract sensitive information, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has kept two more defence personnel, based respectively in Kanpur and Agra, on its radar for allegedly possessing and passing on vital information across the border.

Both the personnel, believed to be accomplices of Brahmos engineer Nishant Agarwal arrested in Nagpur on Monday, were operating in association with him.

UP and Maharashtra ATS teams in coordination with military intelligence had arrested mechanical engineer Nishant Agarwal, 28, associated with Brahmos Aerospace Private Ltd, for possessing classified information about the missile on his personal laptop in breach of the Officials Secret Act.

The police action against Agarwal came through after the law enforcement and probe agencies collected evidence of his involvement in passing on sensitive information to ISI handlers on the other side of the border.

An ATS officer privy to the probe claimed that the Facebook chats of the both the Kanpur and Agra based defence personnel with suspected ISI agents were under the scanner.

"Their movements and activities are being closely monitored and they can be taken into custody only after the ATS gets incriminating evidence of spying for ISI against them," he added.

As per ATS sources, ISI was honey-trapping Indian defence personnel and influential civilians through fake Facebook accounts to extract vital information about sensitive installations, movements of battalions, defence research and development projects and other activities.