Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has said anti-national activities will not be tolerated in the state after the state Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested four men, including former Bajrang Dal leader Balram Singh, in a terror-funding case on August 21.

“Whoever is linked to the terror funding or spying racket in Madhya Pradesh will not be spared despite their association with any political outfit,” Nath told NDTV on Friday.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested Singh and three more men from Satna district. The four are accused of having links to a Pakistan-guided espionage ring. A court sent Singh to police custody till August 26. An official of the Anti-Terrorism Squad claimed the accused were in contact with Pakistani handlers, shared strategic information with them, and carried out dubious cross-border financial transactions.

Singh was also arrested in 2017 along with Bharatiya Janata Party worker Dhruv Saxena after being accused of having links to Chinese SIM Box-enabled Pakistani espionage ring. However, the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2018 released 13 of the 15 men arrested, including Singh, on bail. After his release, Singh allegedly set up another terror-funding racket in Satna along with a new group.

The BJP, meanwhile, said it was backing the security agencies. “We don’t know whether he [Balram Singh] is associated with the Bajrang Dal or not,” said the party’s state spokesperson Rajnish Agarwal. “The country’s security agencies should be allowed to take action. Whosoever commits a crime, the government should take action against them instead of revealing his caste, religion and party.”

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