Indian Embassy Employee Arrested for Spying Sent to Judicial Custody

An Indian embassy staffer accused of spying for Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI has been sent to judicial custody until February 7 by a court in Lucknow. Satendra Siwal, hailing from Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) after questioning in Lucknow, where he failed to provide satisfactory answers and confessed to his crime.

Siwal, employed as an India-Based Security Assistant (IBSA) at the Indian embassy in Moscow since 2021, faces charges under Section 121A of the IPC (waging war against the country) and sections 3, 5, and 9 of the Official Secrets Act.

The ATS filed a plea for Siwal’s police custody, and the judge scheduled a hearing for February 6. According to the ATS, Siwal allegedly shared confidential information about the strategic activities of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of External Affairs, and Indian military establishments with the ISI in exchange for money.