Nepali man held in Delhi for supplying Indian SIM cards to ISI handlers

SIM cards were misused on WhatsApp from Lahore and Bahawalpur to target Indian Army; police recovered devices, chats, and SIM envelopes.

A 43-year-old Nepali national has been arrested in Delhi for allegedly supplying Indian SIM cards to Pakistan’s ISI handlers in Nepal for espionage, police said Tuesday. The accused, Prabhat Kumar Chaurasiya, was lured with promises of a US visa and a chance to study journalism in America, investigators said.

Investigators said SIMs were used to contact Army staff, gather info on DRDO, and aid espionage; the accused was nabbed before reaching Rajasthan. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Chaurasiya was picked up from Laxmi Nagar by Delhi Police’s Special Cell on August 28. According to police, he planned to travel to Rajasthan, but was detained before that.

DCP (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik said inputs suggested Indian SIM cards were being misused in Pakistan to communicate with Army personnel and seek sensitive information. “These SIMs were being used for espionage and other anti-India activities through platforms such as WhatsApp,” he said.

Investigators traced the supply chain and identified Chaurasiya as the key “supplier.” He was seen in multiple cities in Bihar and Maharashtra purchasing SIMs before allegedly handing them over in Nepal to ISI handlers. Police recovered multiple SIM envelopes, devices, and incriminating chats from his possession.

During questioning, Chaurasiya admitted to procuring 16 SIM cards. Of these, 11 were found active on WhatsApp from Pakistan, including in Lahore and Bahawalpur.

Chaurasiya, a graduate with a diploma in IT and computer hardware, had earlier run a logistics company in Kathmandu that shut down in 2017 after losses. He has been booked under sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 152 (acts endangering unity of India) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.