A man working at the Indian Navy’s headquarters in Delhi has been arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan. Vishal Yadav, a clerk in the Navy, was taken into custody by the Rajasthan Police’s Intelligence Wing.

Who is Vishal Yadav?

Vishal Yadav is from Haryana and worked at the Indian Navy headquarters. According to an NDTV report, he is accused of giving important information about India’s Navy and other defence departments to a woman linked to Pakistan’s spy agency, ISI. The woman used the name “Priya Sharma” on social media.

Officials believe this had been going on for years, including the recent military action known, Operation Sindoor.

The CID Intelligence unit of the Rajasthan Police had been keeping an eye on activities related to Pakistani spying for some time. Senior police officer Vishnukant Gupta told NDTV that the team was closely watching Yadav.

When his phone was checked, officers found data that showed he had shared classified details with someone from Pakistan.

Authorities found that Yadav was regularly in touch with the woman pretending to be “Priya Sharma.” She reportedly gave him money in return for defence-related information.

NDTV reported that Yadav was addicted to online games and had lost money due to gambling. He was in deep financial trouble and used that money as motivation to share secret information. The payments were made to him through cryptocurrency accounts and bank transfers, officials told NDTV.

He is now being questioned by several intelligence agencies at the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur.

A bigger pattern across India

After the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people, including many tourists, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7. As a result of this and other attacks, Indian intelligence has become more alert.

In just the past month, people have been arrested in several states including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Punjab. Many of them are believed to have links with Pakistani spy officers.

Among the arrested are two women:

  • Jyoti Malhotra, a YouTuber from Haryana with over 3.7 lakh subscribers on YouTube and 1.33 lakh Instagram followers.

  • Guzala, a 31-year-old woman from Punjab.

Both women were reportedly in contact with a Pakistani officer named Ehsan-ur-Rahim, also known as Danish, who worked at the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi

Operation Sindoor

Operation Sindoor was a military response by India after the Pahalgam attack. On May 10, Indian forces launched precision strikes on Pakistani airbases such as Rafiqui, Murid, Nur Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, and Sialkot. These strikes were described as “focused, measured, and non-escalatory.”

You might also be interested in - Black Cat commando seeks exemption in murder case, says he was in Op Sindoor