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

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.

New Delhi: An Indian Navy staffer posted in Delhi was arrested on Thursday on espionage charges from Jaipur, where he is currently being interrogated by multiple agencies.

Vishal Yadav worked as an upper division clerk at the Naval Headquarters in the national capital.

Yadav, a native of Rewari in Haryana, allegedly leaked classified defence information to a Pakistani handler during Operation Sindoor, for which he was paid Rs 50,000, Inspector General of Police Vishnu Kant Gupta said.

Vishal Yadav, posted as an upper division clerk at the naval headquarters in Delhi, was arrested on Thursday on espionage charges from Jaipur, where multiple agencies are currently interrogating him.

Yadav, a native of Revari in Haryana, allegedly leaked classified defence information to a Pakistani handler during Operation Sindoor, for which he was paid Rs 50,000, inspector general of police Vishnu Kant 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 added.

Yadav was currently working in the Directorate of Dockyard at the Navy Building in Delhi and passed on sensitive information to a handler who posed as an Indian woman and is said to have paid him Rs 2,00,000 from February this year. Some of the payments had been made through cryptocurrency.

Yadav is said to be addicted to online gaming, which could have contributed to his financial problems and subsequent falling into the espionage trap.

Forensic experts are analysing his mobile phone for evidence, including financial transactions, encrypted chats, and classified defence material shared with the handler.