Navy employee arrested in India for allegedly leaking info to ISI

Authorities in Rajasthan have arrested an employee of the Indian Navy’s headquarters in Delhi for allegedly leaking sensitive defence information to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), through a Pakistani woman he met online.

The accused, Vishal Yadav, a resident of Haryana, worked as a clerk at the Navy headquarters. He was arrested following months of surveillance, during which authorities discovered he had been sharing critical information with Pakistan before and during Operation Sindoor.

According to Indian media, Yadav came into contact with a woman who introduced herself as Priya Sharma. Their communication reportedly began through social media and online gaming platforms, which Yadav was addicted to.

Facing financial difficulties due to his gaming addiction, Yadav allegedly accepted payments from the woman via bank transfers and cryptocurrency in exchange for classified information related to Indian naval operations.

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The CID Intelligence Unit of Rajasthan Police had been monitoring the espionage activities linked to Pakistani intelligence for months. During this surveillance, they identified Yadav as a person of interest.

“The CID Intelligence unit of Rajasthan was constantly monitoring the espionage activities carried out by Pakistani intelligence agencies (ISI). During surveillance, they zeroed in on Yadav, who was in constant contact with a female handler of a Pakistani intelligence agency through social media,” Indian media quoted senior police officer Vishnukant Gupta as saying.

Authorities believe Yadav was not in contact with the handler recently, but rather had maintained the relationship for several years, during which he allegedly transferred sensitive data to her.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, Yadav is currently being interrogated at the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur. Intelligence officials are trying to extract maximum information from him, suspecting he may be part of a larger espionage network.

India has arrested several individuals, including social media influencers, on charges of spying for Pakistan in recent years. However, how credible those allegations were. and how critical the leaked information was, has not been fully disclosed to the media.