NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Special Cell has busted an espionage module and arrested a 43-year-old Nepal national for allegedly supplying Indian SIM cards to Pakistani ISI operatives, officials said on Tuesday.
These SIMs were being used from across the border for espionage and other anti-India activities through social media platforms like WhatsApp.
The investigation has revealed that the accused came into contact with ISI handlers in 2024 through a Nepali intermediary. He was lured with promises of a US visa and opportunities in journalism abroad.
In return, he was tasked with supplying Indian SIM cards and collecting information related to DRDO and Army establishments.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik said that on August 28, a tip-off was received that a person, associated with ISI handlers, was present in Vijay Block, Laxmi Nagar.
A trap was laid and the accused was apprehended, who was later identified as Prabhat Kumar Chaurasiya, a resident of Birganj in Nepal.
During questioning, the accused revealed that he had procured 16 SIM cards using his Aadhaar credentials and sent them to Nepal, of which 11 SIMs were being operated on WhatsApp from Lahore, Bahawalpur, and other parts of Pakistan by ISI operatives, the DPC said.
Digital devices containing incriminating material and multiple SIM cards envelopes were recovered from the accused.
Using his Aadhaar card registered at Latur, Maharashtra, he procured SIM cards from telecom stores in Bihar and Maharashtra. These SIMs, after activation, were smuggled to Kathmandu, Nepal, through conduits and were subsequently handed over to ISI handlers.
WhatsApp accounts registered on these SIMs were operated from Pakistan to establish contact with Indian Army personnel and to pursue other sensitive espionage objectives, Kaushik stated.
Chaurasiya completed his Class XII in Nepal, pursued intermediate studies in Bihar, and later obtained a B.Sc. degree in Information Technology along with a diploma in computer hardware and networking.
Professionally, he worked in the pharmaceutical sector across Pune, Latur, Solapur, and Delhi as a medical representative and area sales manager. In 2017, he set up Neo Terminal and Logistics Company Pvt. Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal which collapsed due to heavy financial losses.
In Kathmandu, he came into contact with ISI operatives. Out of desperation to go abroad, he not only agreed to supply Indian SIM cards, but also agreed to collect sensitive Indian defence-related information for ISI operatives, police said.