THE UTTAR Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested an employee of the Ministry of External Affairs posted at the Indian Embassy in Moscow for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s ISI.
In an official statement issued on Sunday, the ATS identified the accused as Satendra Siwal, 28. It said that Siwal, a native of Hapur district, was arrested on Saturday and presented on Sunday before a special court in Lucknowwhich sent him to judicial custody for 14 days.
“The UP ATS had received inputs from several confidential sources that the Pakistani spy agency ISI’s handlers had used money to influence some people working at the Foreign Ministry of India to leak top secret information regarding the Indian Army and its strategies,” the ATS statement said.
“The ATS developed this information and through electronic surveillance and evidence collection, it was found that Satendra Siwal, a native of Hapur district of UP, who works at the Foreign Ministry as a MTS (multi-tasking staff), and is currently posted at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, was involved in this,” it said.
Government sources in New Delhi said that MEA is aware of the arrest of Siwal, who was posted as Security Assistant at the Indian Embassy. “MEA continues to work with the investigative authorities in the matter,” a source said.
The ATS in its statement said, “It was found that he was involved with ISI handlers in anti-India activities. He was providing classified information about the Indian Army and military activities to the ISI handlers in exchange for money.”
It said that Siwal was called to the ATS office in Meerut where he could not give satisfactory answers about the information sent by him. “On further interrogation, he confessed to his crime,” the ATS said.
ATS Additional Director General Mohit Agarwal told The Indian Express“We will continue the investigation in the case, and will go through his bank accounts and financial transactions to see how much money he made. He shared classified documents with the ISI.”
Another ATS officer, who is involved in the investigation, said that Siwal used to speak to a female handler who lured him with money. “He spoke to her regularly on the phone, and she gave him the temptation of money. He sent her classified documents in exchange for money,” the officer said.
“He had access to them because he worked at the Embassy and the Army and Embassy regularly exchange information about movement, deployment of troops etc. That is what he shared with the ISI. We suspect that he did multiple transactions with his handler. It will become clear during the investigation,” the officer said.
Siwal has been arrested under Section 121A (conspiring to wage, or attempt to wage war, or abet waging of war against the government of India) of the Indian Penal Code and the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
Items seized during the operation include two mobile phones, one Aadhaar cardone PAN card, one identification document, and Rs 600 cash.
-With inputs from ENS, New Delhi
