What info did Satendra Siwal, Indian embassy staff held for ‘spying’, share with Pakistan?

The world of espionage is a complex one. In a shocking development, an Indian embassy employee who was posted in Moscow was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Satendra Siwal was held in Meerut on Sunday after the ATS received information that ISI handlers were trying to obtain sensitive about the Indian Army information from the external affairs ministry staff.

Here's everything we know so far about the case, as it continues to unfold.

Who is Satendra Siwal?

Satendra Siwal, 26, hails from the Shahmahiuddinpur village in Hapur district, Uttar Pradesh. He has been serving as a multi-tasking staff at the embassy in Moscow since 2021.

Siwal, an Indian Based Security Assistant (IBSA), allegedly misused his position to extract confidential documents. He reportedly joined the service in 2018 and Moscow was his first posting, a source in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told ThePrint.

More from Explainers

What are the allegations against Siwal?

ISI handlers were reportedly luring MEA staff, offering financial incentives in exchange for sensitive information about the Indian Army. This leaked information posed a grave threat to India’s internal and external security, according to the ATS, reports NDTV.

Siwal was part of his espionage network and was identified as a key player. He allegedly extracted confidential documents from the Indian embassy in Moscow. He was motivated by greed for money.

The accused allegedly passed crucial information on the strategic activities of India’s defence ministry, MEA and the military establishment to ISI handlers, according to the NDTV report.

According to top Intelligence sources, Satendra sent almost 10 to 12 sensitive documents to ISI handlers. He is also accused of sharing details of crucial meetings and deals from Moscow, reports News18.

Siwal has been serving as a multi-tasking staff at the Indian embassy in Moscow since 2021

How did the UP ATS track down Siwal?

The Uttar Pradesh ATS received inputs about ISI operatives targeting MEA staff to obtain confidential information. They tracked down the accused with the help of electronic and human intelligence sources.

“The ATS was receiving intelligence from various confidential sources that the handlers of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, through some persons, were luring the employees of the Ministry of External Affairs with money to obtain strategically and strategically important information related to the Indian Army that is likely to pose a huge threat to the internal and external security of India,” the agency said in a statement.

A source in the UP ATS told ThePrint that Siwal had indulged in information sharing for a couple of years. He reportedly returned home on 27 January and was summoned to the Meerut field unit of UP Police’s special division for interrogation.

During questioning, he reportedly failed to provide satisfactory answers and eventually confessed to being involved in spying.

“He was sharing confidential information since 2021 and we had called him… to our unit and a case was registered after which he was arrested,” an officer in UP ATS told ThePrint. “We had the inputs about his involvement in the offence and we interrogated and confronted him with undeniable facts. He confessed to the crime.”

Following this, an FIR was registered against Siwal under Section 121A of the IPC (waging war against the country) and the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and he was arrested.

Siwal is one of the MEA staff who was in contact with ISI handlers, the UP ATS said citing their surveillance.

What has the MEA said?

The MEA said that it is aware of the arrest of Siwal and that the ministry continues to work with investigative authorities on the matter.

Have there been similar arrests?

Satendra is reportedly the third MEA staffer being held in seven months for links to ISI.

The Delhi Police arrested a driver working with the ministry in November 2023 for allegedly passing on confidential information to his Pakistani handlers. During the interrogation, he said that he was honey-trapped by a woman who claimed to be from Kolkata on social media, according to a report in The Tribune.

In July last year, the Ghaziabad Police arrested Naveen Pal, a contract worker at the MEA, on charges of espionage. The police acted on a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau, the report says.

Pal had sent documents related to the G20 meetings being held in Delhi ahead of the Leaders’ Summit in September last year. He too confessed to being lured into sharing the information by a “woman” he met on social media.

The virtual number of the “woman” was traced to Bareilly, but further analysis revealed the IP address was located in Karachi.

With inputs from agencies