Naval headquarter clerk held for spying for Pakistan, leaking Operation Sindoor details to ISI

JAIPUR: Intelligence agencies' review of social media accounts flagged in a 2022 ISI espionage case involving a Sena Bhawan staffer led investigators to trace a new money trail, resulting in the arrest of an upper division clerk posted at Naval HQ in Delhi. The clerk, Vishal Yadav, is accused of passing on sensitive information to ISI in exchange for money.

Investigators are examining financial transactions between a Pakistani ISI handler and Yadav, who was remanded in four days of police custody on Thursday.

Jaipur police had taken Yadav to Jaipur after arresting him in Delhi on Wednesday. He allegedly received money in his bank account and through cryptocurrency transactions for spying on behalf of Pakistan.

Suspicion about Yadav's activities arose during a review of Facebook accounts flagged in a 2022 espionage case involving Ravi Prakash Meena, a Class IV employee posted at Sena Bhawan. Meena was arrested in Oct 2022 for allegedly leaking sensitive military information to Pakistani handlers. He was lured into the network by a woman, who identified herself as Anjali Tiwari on social media, who later moved their conversations to encrypted platforms.

Investigators probing Meena's case placed several social media accounts under surveillance. Yadav's name surfaced during this review. As the surveillance deepened, officials discovered that Yadav also shared sensitive military information, including updates on operations such as Op Sindoor.

Investigators recovered encrypted messages, financial records and sensitive files from Yadav's phone.