New Delhi: Two suspected “pro-Pakistan” Kashmiri hackers, who claimed to have hacked over 500 Indian websites, have been arrested from Punjab by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell. They have been identified as Shahid Malla, 28, and Adil Hussain Teli, 20.

PS Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), said that acting on a specific input, the duo was arrested on the intervening night of April 26 and 27 in raids at two locations in Punjab.  “As per their online activities and initial findings, the two were part of anti-national hacking group called ‘Team Hackers Third Eye’, and claimed to have hacked more than 500 Indian websites. They were also involved in educating Kashmiri youth to bypass a state-imposed social media ban by the use of VPN (virtual private networks) during April-May 2017,” he said.

The duo was found to be in touch with several Pakistan-based anti-Indian hackers. Some of those hackers are believed to be backed by Pakistani intelligence agencies, Kushwah said. The duo was found to be “pro-Kashmiri terrorism and pro-Pakistan” as they had made anti-India and seditious posts, the DCP said.

Laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, internet dongles and memory devices recovered from the two will be examined by the Delhi Police in detail to ascertain their role in anti-state activities.

Malla is a second year B Tech student at a college in Rajpora, Punjab. He belongs to Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir and was staying on rent in Sheetal Colony, Rajpura. Teli is a final-year BCA student at an institute in Jalandhar, Punjab. He is from Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir and was staying in a rented accommodation in a colony in Jalandhar.