Navy staffer held for leaking Operation Sindoor details, other classified info to Pakistani handler

Jaipur | An Indian Navy staffer posted in naval headquarters in Delhi was arrested in Jaipur for allegedly leaking defence-related sensitive information to a Pakistani handler in exchange for money, a police official said on Thursday.

Vishal Yadav, an upper division clerk (UDC) in the Directorate of Dockyard at the Navy building, allegedly also shared details on Operation Sindoor — strikes carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the Pahalgam terror attack.

Inspector General of Police (CID-Security) Vishnu Kant Gupta said Yadav, originally from Rewari in Haryana, leaked the classified information to a female Pakistani handler posing as an Indian woman.

"Yadav confessed to receiving approximately Rs 2 lakh in total for the information he passed on," Gupta said.

"This included Rs 50,000 for leaking information related to Operation Sindoor," the IGP said, adding some of the payments were also made in cryptocurrency.

Special public prosecutor Sudesh Kumar Satwan revealed that intelligence agencies caught hold of Yadav while they were investigating an old case, during which a lead led them to him.

Agencies then put him under surveillance, and when it was determined that he sent confidential information to the handlers of the Pakistani intelligence agency, Yadav was questioned, Satwan said.

He was finally arrested when sensitive documents were found on his mobile phone.

Intelligence sources said that Yadav was first approached on Facebook. The Pakistani handler sent a friend request under the fake identity "Priya Sharma".

The two started communicating regularly and eventually shifted to WhatsApp and later to Telegram, a platform known for its encryption-enabled messages.

Police said that Yadav initially received small payments of Rs 5,000 - Rs 6,000 for lower-grade information. However, the handler allegedly encouraged him to provide more valuable intelligence in exchange for higher compensation. That's when Yadav began sharing critical defence-related data.

"He was lured by money and ended up leaking sensitive information from the Navy headquarters," Gupta said.

"After monitoring his social media activity and confirming his links with a Pakistani handler, he was detained in Jaipur for joint interrogation involving multiple national agencies," the IGP said.

Yadav, originally from Punsika village in Haryana's Rewari district, is also reported to be addicted to online gaming, which authorities believe may have made him more vulnerable to such traps.

Police said the forensic examination of Yadav's mobile phone reportedly uncovered extensive evidence, including financial transactions, sensitive messages, and confidential defence data exchanged with the handler. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are probing his cryptocurrency transactions and connections.

IG Gupta emphasised that Pakistani intelligence agencies are using increasingly sophisticated methods to extract strategic information. "We are keeping a constant watch on such activities, and this arrest is a result of sustained monitoring and timely action," he said.

The accused has been sent to police remand till June 30 after he was produced before a court here, Satwan said.