As exploits of India’s Dhurandhar spy caused much disturbance in Pakistan, the country has found a new way of spy surveillance in India.SIM-enabled solar-powered spy cameras planted by Pakistani intelligence operatives near sensitive military locations have emerged as a new and sophisticated threat to national security, with Punjab Police being the first agency in the country to detect and crack the covert surveillance network.“What they don’t know is that Punjab Police is full of Dhurandhars who can thwart any threat,” said. senior police official.The Bathinda cantonement case is the latest in a growing list of such recoveries across Punjab.Punjab Police Counter Intelligence had picked up early indicators of the ISI-sponsored camera-based espionage vector in the last week of March 2026 and first week of April 2026, well before the Delhi Police Special Cell went public with a similar operation on April 11.Acting on timely intelligence, Punjab Police intercepted individuals tasked by Pakistan Intelligence Operatives to install the surveillance devices at vulnerable locations before the cameras could become operational.After detecting the spy camera network, Punjab Police issued a nationwide advisory highlighting the use of SIM-enabled CCTV cameras for surveillance of defence-related infrastructure.  Sources said acting on the advisory, statewide verification and sanitisation drives were launched, leading to the detection of cameras at multiple sensitive locations. It was in the wake of this advisory that several cases, including the Bathinda recovery, came to light.DGP Punjab Gaurav Yadav said Pakistan’s ISI and terror groups keep devising new means to cause trouble in India but Punjab Police has consistently thwarted their plans. “They have now turned to high-tech cameras to spy on our defence establishments and troop movements. We detected this threat early, alerted agencies across the country and have been dismantling these networks one by one,” he said.The cameras, made in China, operate on solar power and transmit live video feeds through 4G SIM cards to handlers sitting across the border. They require no traditional wiring, making them extremely difficult to detect. Punjab’s farmland provides natural cover for such devices.In Bathinda, the covert surveillance camera was uncovered near the city’s high-security military zone, with the feed being transmitted to anti-national elements in Pakistan and Canada. Two persons were arrested, identified as Ashok Singh (40), a cook, and Akashdeep Singh (22), both residents of Sarai village in Amritsar district. The camera was detected by Thermal police while investigating a road accident.A case was registered at the Thermal police station under the Official Secrets Act.In the Delhi Police operation on April 11, nine solar-powered CCTV cameras were recovered from near sensitive security and defence establishments. Six accused were arrested, three from Punjab and three from Delhi, with five more from Punjab held in a second operation based on Military Intelligence inputs.Punjab Police then busted two more ISI-backed espionage modules in Jalandhar and Kapurthala that were using high-tech Chinese-made CCTV cameras to transmit live feeds of sensitive military locations to Pakistan-based handlers. Police investigation has revealed that a Pakistan-based handler paid Rs 35,000 to an accused for installing a single camera.In Pathankot, Baljit Singh alias Bittu, a resident of Chakk Dhariwal village, was arrested for installing a camera at a shop near a bridge on the Pathankot-Jammu stretch of National Highway 44 to monitor army and paramilitary convoys.Recruits were paid through hawala channels and online transactions. Security agencies say the network is part of a wider surge in ISI espionage activity that intensified after Operation Sindoor.