In Rajasthan especially, espionage activities for Pakistani intelligence agencies are constantly monitored under ‘Operation Sarhad', and with good reason as a large section of the arrests made this year of Indian nationals aiding spies come from the state
A driver employed at the Ministry of External Affairs was arrested today from Jawahar Lal Nehru Bhawan in New Delhi on espionage charges. He was allegedly transferring information and documents in exchange for money to a Pakistani person under the fake name of Poonam Sharma/Pooja. Sources in the crime branch of Delhi Police, who made the arrest, said the driver was honey-trapped. Listing other instances in 2022 where officials were both knowingly and unknowingly involved in espionage.
November 14, 2022: The Delhi High Court on Monday denied bail to a Nepalese national accused of being co-director of a Chinese firm through whom sensitive information was being passed on to Chinese intelligence officers, saying the gravity of the offence was affecting the national security of the country. The high court denied the relief to the accused Sher Singh saying that no ground for the grant of bail was made out. “… in view of the gravity of the offense affecting the national security of the country, there is no ground for grant of bail and the bail application is declined,” Justice Anu Malhotra said.
September 7, 2022: A 24-year-old Army Jawan Pradeep Kumar from Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, was honey-trapped by the Pakistani intelligence ISI agent under the fake name of Riya Sharma, and arrested by Rajasthan Police. The jawan was a gunner in the Jodhpur-based army’s secret missile regiment unit. In November 2021, Riya made a wrong call on Pradeep’s mobile, and after that started constantly communicating with each other, and even met. Later, she made obscene moves at him and smitten he started divulging secret information like documents, computer screenshots of military exercises, deployment on duty, missile unit’s battery room, and locker room to Riya during the annual military exercise in Lathi village, Jaisalmer. As soon as it was realised that Pradeep had come under the radar of the investigative agencies, Riya disappeared. Finally, the Jaipur branch of the Rajasthan Police called Pradeep for questioning, after which he was arrested.
August 17, 2022: Rajasthan Police arrested a 47-year-old man suspected to be an agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The accused, identified as Bhag Chand, is a Pakistani Hindu migrant, who was living as an Indian national, and was arrested from Bhati Mines area in South Delhi. He was arrested on the intervening nights of Monday and Tuesday.
August 14, 2022:The Intelligence wing of Rajasthan Police arrested Narayan Lal Gadri (27) and Kuldeep Singh Shekhawat (24) suspected to be agents of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from Bhilawara and Jaipur. Shekhawat was posted as a salesman at a liquor shop in Jaitaran tehsil, Pali district. Gadri was found helping Pakistani agency ISI to make social media accounts in the name of Indian citizens by providing them with SIM cards and telephone numbers. Shekhawat created fake accounts and honey-trapped Indian Jawans by pretending to be a woman. A third person named Bhag Chand, who is a 47-year-old Pakistani Hindu migrant-turned-Indian national residing in South Delhi’s Bhati Mines area, was arrested for being in touch with a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO).
July 26, 2022: An Indian Army soldier was arrested in a case of espionage, a police official said on Tuesday. The accused soldier Shantimoy Rana (24) was posted in Rajasthan and was honey-trapped by two women. He shared classified information related to his regiment and videos of army exercise with them through social media, DG Intelligence Umesh Mishra said.
July 2, 2022: Three people were arrested for spying for Pakistani intelligence agencies, a top intelligence official said on Saturday. The action was taken against three people out of the 23 suspects detained during a special drive, "Operation Hifajat", conducted in border districts, including Sri Ganganagar, Hanumangarh and Churu districts. The three arrested were identified as Abdul Sattar of Hanumangarh, Nitin Yadav of Sriganganagar, and Ram Singh of Churu. They were found to share confidential and strategic information to the Pakistani intelligence agencies through social media and they were getting money from their handlers, according to officials.
May 6, 2022: The crime branch of Delhi police has arrested an Indian Air Force (IAF) jawan named Devendra Sharma from Dhaula Kuan area, Delhi, for allegedly leaking sensitive information related to IAF personnel, national security, and defence to a woman he met online.
January 2022: A Corps of Engineers soldier was arrested for sharing sensitive information about the regiment’s training with a suspected Pakistani spy, Reet Kaur, who had befriended him on Facebook. She worked as a clerk in the office of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts in Jodhpur and would chat with the soldier in his native Punjabi and exchange in sexual activity on video. That soldier was trapped thrice. First by Reet Kaur, then by women named Khushdeep Kaur and Harleen Gill.