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The accused, identified as Satyendra Siwal, a native of the northern Indian city of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh has been posted at the Embassy since 2021 and worked as an MTS (multi-tasking staff) at the Ministry of External Affairs
In a major development, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (UP ATS) has arrested an employee posted at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, accused of being an agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The accused, identified as Satyendra Siwal, a native of the northern Indian city of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh had been posted at the Embassy since 2021 and worked as an MTS (multi-tasking staff) at the Ministry of External Affairs.
According to reports, he was arrested after ATS received intelligence from confidential sources that an ISI spy was operating from the Embassy.
Acting on the information, UP ATS questioned Siwal, who initially gave unsatisfactory answers. However, later he confessed to spying and was arrested in Meerut.
Additionally, he also passed critical information concerning the strategic activities of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, and Indian military establishments to ISI handlers.
Previous incidents
In October last year, a Pakistani man who had been granted Indian citizenship in 2005 was caught by the ATS for allegedly spying on Indian defence personnel via WhatsApp.
The suspect, identified as 53-year-old Labhshankar Maheshwari, hailed from Tarapur town in Anand district in Gujarat.
The snooping was done to allegedly help Pakistani authorities. The plot involved sending spyware to the WhatsApp of Indian defence personnel in the garb of a fake ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, which sought to encourage every Indian household to sport the national flag.
The accused had been booked under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Act section 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate a design to wage war against the government) and 121-A (conspiracy to wage war against the government) and under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
ISI’s nefarious plans
Notably, the ISI has been notorious for attempting to infiltrate the Indian bureaucratic setups with its spies. When not busy planting moles, ISI lays the groundwork to stoke the separatism cause in India and abroad.
Last year, several intel reports found that ISI had been providing funds to intensify Khalistani activities in Canada.
The funding, according to the report, has been utilised to take people to the protest site, make posters and banners, and also to instigate youth against India.
(With inputs from agencies)