MEA says aware of arrest, coordinating with probe authorities

The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested a person working at the Indian Embassy in Moscow for his alleged involvement in anti-national activities with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.

The MEA has said it is aware of the arrest in UP and is working with the investigative authorities in the matter.

The UP ATS has alleged Satendra Siwal, who had been working as “India-based Security Assistant” in the Moscow mission since 2021, was trapped by ISI handlers who enticed him to part with important confidential information regarding the strategic activities of the Defence and External Affairs Ministries as well as Indian military establishments. Siwal has also been described as MTS (multi-tasking staff) and Security Assistant at the Indian Embassy.

On receiving the tip off about Siwal, the UP ATS said it developed the information by electronic and physical surveillance and found that motivated by greed, he was passing on sensitive information to the ISI. Siwal had been in service for only six years and the posting to Moscow in 2021 was his first overseas stint.

Siwal was then called to the ATS’ field unit in Hapur on January 26 when he came from Russia on leave and was closely questioned. Placed under surveillance and told not to leave his home, Siwal was again called for questioning on February 3. After he failed to give satisfactory answers to queries on information he had sent to other sources, he confessed to his crime, claimed the UP ATS.

Siwal is a resident of Shahmahiuddinpur village in the police station area of Hapur district. A statement by the UP ATS said he was allegedly extracting confidential documents by exploiting his position within the Indian Embassy in Moscow. Prima facie it has been revealed Siwal was allegedly motivated by greed for money.

In the FIR, Siwal has been booked under Section 121 A (waging war against the country) of the IPC and the Official Secrets Act, 1923, the statement added.

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 5th Feb , 2024