The UP Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has stated that a woman who made a friend of the Indian embassy staffer in Moscow on social media set him up for spying, leading to his recent arrest in Uttar Pradesh on charges of spying for Pakistan's ISI.
According to Rajeev Tyagi, an ATS inspector in Meerut, Satendra Siwal, a native of Shahmahiuddinpur village in Hapur, gave classified secrets about weapon systems used by the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, including warplanes and submarines.
Mr. Siwal is under ATS remand for ten days, expiring on February 16.
Last year, Siwal made contact with the woman who had created an online persona under the name Pooja Mehra. Mr. Tyagi stated, "She used a honey trap to trick him into giving her access to confidential data in exchange for money. Siwal has stated that he still has the documents on his phone that he gave to the woman." The ATS inspector continued, "A forensic assessment of his phone and other devices that he uses is underway."
In its investigation using electronic and physical monitoring, the ATS discovered that he was involved in anti-India activities with the ISI handlers' network.
According to the ATS officers, the Pakistani intelligence agency was in charge of the woman's social media accounts.
The Indian embassy in Moscow has employed Siwal since 2021 in the role of IBSA (India-based security assistant). On February 4, he was detained from Lucknow by the Meerut unit of the ATS.
Following the filing of a formal complaint (FIR) against him at the Lucknow ATS police station under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and Section 121A of the IPC (waging war against the country), he was taken into custody.
During questioning, Siwal was unable to provide adequate answers and "confessed" to his crime.
The ATS previously stated that Siwal was receiving payment for crucial, sensitive information about the strategic operations of the Indian military facilities, the Ministry of External Affairs, and the Ministry of Defence.
The Ministry of External Affairs had stated that it was aware of Siwal's arrest and collaborating with investigators in the case.
Meanwhile, Siwal's family members have left their hometown of Hapur and relocated elsewhere, according to police.
