A Lucknow court on Monday sent an Indian embassy staffer arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI to judicial custody till February 7. The Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday said it arrested Satendra Siwal, a resident of Hapur district, in Lucknow.
He was arrested after questioning as he could not give satisfactory answers and confessed his crime, they said. Siwal has been working as an India-Based Security Assistant (IBSA) in the Indian embassy in Moscow since 2021.
FIR was lodged in ATS police station
An FIR was lodged at the ATS police station in Gomtinagar on February 3 against Siwal under section 121A (waging war against the country) of the IPC and sections 3,5 and 9 of the Official Secrets Act.
The accused was brought before Additional Session Judge VS Tripathi's court, where he was remanded to judicial custody earlier in the day. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) filed a plea seeking police custody for Siwal, and the judge directed that he be presented in court on Tuesday for a hearing on the matter.
Charges against Siwal
According to the ATS, Siwal is accused of divulging confidential information about the strategic operations of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs, and Indian military establishments to the ISI in exchange for monetary gains. The allegations suggest a breach of national security, and the legal proceedings are set to unfold in the upcoming hearing.
During ATS interrogation, Siwal revealed that he used to bribe Indian government officials with money to extract information about the Indian Army and its day-to-day functioning. He has also been accused of passing important and confidential information about the Indian Embassy, Defense Ministry and foreign affairs to ISI handlers.
(With PTI inputs)
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