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A Nepali national has been arrested for allegedly supplying Indian SIM cards to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, which were later used across the border to establish contact with Indian defence personnel and carry out espionage-linked activities on WhatsApp, the Delhi Police said on Tuesday.
The police identified the accused as Prabhat Kumar Chaurasiya, 43, a resident of Birgunj in Nepal, and said he was arrested from Vijay Block in Laxmi Nagar on August 28 by a team of the Special Cell’s Eastern Range.
During questioning, Chaurasiya allegedly admitted to having procured 16 SIM cards from Bihar and Maharashtra using his Aadhaar credentials, which were registered in Maharashtra’s Latur.
“Eleven SIMs were being operated on WhatsApp from Lahore, Bahawalpur, and other parts of Pakistan by ISI operatives…the investigation has revealed that the accused came into contact with ISI handlers in 2024 through a Nepali intermediary. He was lured with promises of a US visa and opportunities in journalism abroad. In return, he was tasked with supplying Indian SIM cards and collecting information related to DRDO and Army establishments,” Amit Kaushik, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell, said.
The police said the SIM cards were smuggled from India to Kathmandu and then handed over to ISI handlers. The WhatsApp accounts created with these numbers were allegedly later used by ISI operatives in Pakistan to reach out to Indian Army personnel and pursue espionage objectives.
Investigators said Chaurasiya, who holds a BSc degree in IT along with a diploma in computer hardware and networking, had previously worked in the pharmaceutical sector in Pune, Latur, Solapur and Delhi. In 2017, he started a logistics company in Kathmandu, which collapsed due to financial losses, after which he allegedly came into contact with ISI handlers.
Digital devices and multiple SIM envelopes were recovered from him, the police said.
A case under sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) and 152 (acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered, the police said. Further investigation is underway to identify his associates, the courier network and the foreign handlers who directed the espionage module, the police added.
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