UP ATS arrests Moscow Indian Embassy official for allegedly spying for ISI

The arrested man has been identified as Satendra Siwal. He has been employed as an India Based Security Assistant (IBSA) at the Indian Embassy in Moscow since the year 2021.

The operation was launched after ATS received a tip-off from confidential sources indicating that ISI handlers were insnaring Indian Ministry of External Affairs employees, offering money in return for sensitive information linked to the Indian Army.

The exchange of information posed a grave threat to India's internal and external security, the agency said.

Satendra Siwal, hailing from Shahmahiuddinpur village in Hapur, has been identified as a main figure in this espionage network. Exploiting his role in the Indian Embassy in Moscow, he is accused of illegally obtaining confidential documents.

Driven by financial greed, the accused purportedly shared crucial information related to the strategic operations of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, and Indian military establishments with ISI handlers.

"The ATS was receiving intelligence from various confidential sources that the handlers of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, through some persons, were luring the employees of the Ministry of External Affairs with money to obtain strategically and strategically important information related to the Indian Army that is likely to pose a huge threat to the internal and external security of India," the agency said in a statement.

Following comprehensive intelligence gathering and surveillance, Satendra Siwal was called to the ATS Field Unit in Meerut for questioning.

Under interrogation, he allegedly could not provide satisfactory explanations and eventually admitted to his participation in espionage activities.