Punjab man arrested for ‘leaking sensitive information’ to Pakistan’s ISI

According to the Jaipur unit of Rajasthan’s CID Intelligence, after close surveillance, Singh, a resident of Punjab’s Ferozepur, was in contact with ISI handlers through social media and was allegedly collecting confidential information of strategic importance from Rajasthan, Punjab, and Gujarat and sending it to Pakistan.

Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) Prafull Kumar told The Indian Express: “On November 27, information was received about a suspect, Prakash Singh, alias Badal, being seen near the military establishment Sadhuwali in Sri Ganganagar. The Border Intelligence team detained the suspect. Preliminary investigations confirmed that his mobile phone was in constant contact with foreign and Pakistani WhatsApp numbers. He was doing this for monetary benefits.”

Kumar said this is the fourth espionage-related arrest in Rajasthan since Operation Sindoor, and that interrogation has yielded more leads in the case.

At the Joint Interrogation Centre in Sri Ganganagar, agencies questioned the suspect extensively. The interrogation indicated he had been in contact with ISI since Operation Sindoor and was providing strategic details, including information on Army vehicles, military installations, border topography, bridges, roads, railway lines, and new construction projects.

In addition to spying on the Army, he allegedly helped Pakistan create fake Indian WhatsApp accounts for covert operations. At the request of Pakistani handlers, he provided OTPs generated from mobile numbers issued in the names of Indian citizens. These OTPs were then used to download WhatsApp using Indian numbers for espionage and other anti-national activities. He received money for this assistance.

Given the seriousness of the case, he was transferred to the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur for further investigation. Interrogation by multiple agencies and technical analysis of his mobile phone corroborated the findings. A case was subsequently registered against Prakash Singh, alias Badal, at the Special Police Station, Jaipur, under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and he was arrested Monday.