Navy staffer arrested for spying for Pakistan during Operation Sindoor: Report

An employee stationed at the Indian Navy’s headquarters in Delhi has been detained on espionage allegations, with investigators claiming he leaked critical defense information to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), even during the recently concluded Operation Sindoor.

“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,” the NDTV report quoted senior police officer Vishnukant Gupta.

The suspect, Vishal Yadav, a clerk at Navy HQ and a Haryana resident, was apprehended by the Rajasthan police’s intelligence unit after months of monitoring, according to NDTV. The report noted that a forensic analysis of his cellphone uncovered years’ worth of communication and data transfers, including those occurring during Operation Sindoor, a military campaign by India targeting terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack.

The report states that a forensic analysis of his cellphone uncovered years of communications and data exchanges, including during Operation Sindoor – an Indian military effort targeting terror centers in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack.

Preliminary results indicate that Yadav was dependent on online gaming and had suffered considerable monetary losses. Several intelligence agencies are questioning the suspect at the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur. Authorities are investigating the scope of the breach and if others could have participated in the espionage ring.

Intensified action against Pakistani espionage network follows Pahalgam terrorist incident. The countrywide operation against alleged Pakistani spy networks has intensified after the lethal terrorist assault in Pahalgam, which resulted in more than 26 civilian fatalities. In the past few days, several people have been detained throughout India for supposedly having connections with Pakistani intelligence agents via social media and other means.

In Rajasthan, a government employee named Shakur Khan was previously arrested in Jaisalmer for allegedly spying for Pakistan.

Independently, YouTuber and vlogger Jyoti Malhotra from Haryana was arrested on comparable espionage allegations. Investigators assert she was in communication with a Pakistani official stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi during Operation Sindoor — the fierce four-day military clash between India and Pakistan from May 7 to 10.