- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
They have filed a case against Satendra Siwal, who was allegedly motivated by greed for money and leaked information to Pakistan, under the Official Secrets Act and for waging war against the country.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AN Indian employee at the country’s embassy in Moscow, Russia, has been arrested by the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) in Meerut in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly spying for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the intelligence agency of Pakistan.
Sources in the Indian external affairs ministry were cited as saying that the ministry was aware of the arrest of the accused, Satendra Siwal, who worked as security assistant in the embassy in the Russian capital. The ministry was working in tandem with investigative authorities in the matter.
The ATS said in a statement that Siwal was arrested after the agency received information from confidential sources that ISI handlers were luring employees of the Indian foreign ministry to get access to data related to the country’s armed forces.
The accused was subsequently called up to the ATS field unit in Meerut for interrogation and he reportedly failed to provide satisfactory answers and also confessed to being involved in spying.
Siwal, a resident of Shahmahiuddinpur village in Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh, allegedly passed on sensitive information concerning strategic activities of key ministries such as external affairs and defence and military establishments to ISI agents, potentially compromising the country’s security — both internal and external, the police said.
They have filed a case against Siwal, who was allegedly motivated by greed for money, under the Official Secrets Act and for waging war against the country.
He has been working at the Indian embassy in Moscow since 2021 as an India Based Security Assistant (IBSA).
The external affairs ministry enlists IBSAs from constables and head constables from police forces in states.
They are chosen for deputation for three years with a compulsory minimum term of two years to be spent at a diplomatic mission abroad. Prior to their deployment for international assignments, the candidates undergo training to get themselves familiar with the security-oriented structure of a diplomatic facility.
