An Indian Navy staffer posted at the naval headquarters in Delhi has been arrested in Jaipur for allegedly leaking a range of classified defence information to a Pakistani handler, including details of Operation Sindoor, for which he received ₹50,000.
Vishal Yadav, an upper division clerk (UDC) in the Directorate of Dockyard at the Navy building in Delhi, allegedly leaked classified information related to Operation Sindoor, a series of strikes carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, PTI reported.
Yadav, a native of Rewari in Haryana, passed the sensitive information to a female Pakistani handler who had posed as an Indian woman, inspector general of police (CID-security) Vishnu Kant Gupta said.
He was arrested on Wednesday in Jaipur and will now face a joint investigation involving multiple agencies.
“Yadav confessed to receiving approximately ₹2 lakh in total for the information he passed on. This included ₹50,000 for leaking information related to Operation Sindoor,” the IGP added, saying some of the payments had been made through cryptocurrency.
Espionage trail began on Facebook
Quoting intelligence sources, PTI also reported that the espionage trail began on Facebook, where the Pakistani handler using the fake identity “Priya Sharma” sent Yadav a friend request.
Their communication soon became regular and later shifted to WhatsApp, before eventually moving to Telegram, a platform known for its encryption features.
{{/usCountry}}Their communication soon became regular and later shifted to WhatsApp, before eventually moving to Telegram, a platform known for its encryption features.
{{/usCountry}}Police said Yadav initially received small sums, ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹6,000, for lower-grade information. However, as the handler pushed him for more critical material, he began sharing classified defence data for higher payments.
“He was lured by money and ended up leaking sensitive information from the Navy headquarters,” Gupta said.
“After monitoring his social media activity and confirming his links with a Pakistani handler, he was detained in Jaipur for joint interrogation involving multiple national agencies,” the IGP added.
Yadav, who hails from Punsika village in Haryana’s Rewari district, is also said to be addicted to online gaming, an addiction investigators believe may have contributed to his vulnerability in falling into the espionage trap.
Forensic analysis of his mobile phone has revealed substantial evidence, including financial transactions, encrypted chats, and classified defence material shared with the handler, the report added.
The probe is ongoing, with authorities examining his cryptocurrency dealings and further connections.
IG Gupta warned that Pakistan’s intelligence networks are deploying increasingly sophisticated tactics to extract sensitive information. “We are keeping a constant watch on such activities, and this arrest is a result of sustained monitoring and timely action,” he said.
With PTI inputs