Indian Navy clerk arrested for leaking sensitive intel to Pakistan during Operation Sindoor

Vishal Yadav, posted as an Upper Division Clerk (UDC) at the Directorate of Dockyard in New Delhi, was taken into custody by the Rajasthan Police’s Intelligence Wing with charges of leaking information to Pakistan’s intelligence agency during Operation Sindoor.

The Rajasthan Police’s Intelligence Wing then sent him to four days of police remand on Thursday by a local court for further interrogation.

Yadav is a resident of Punsika in Haryana’s Rewari, was arrested under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

The Accusation

Vishnukant Gupta, Inspector General of Police (IGP) of CID Security, said, “The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had been monitoring espionage activities, and found Yadav in contact with a female handler from a Pakistani intelligence agency via social media.

He further added that the woman, operating under the alias Priya Sharma, had allegedly lured Vishal with money to extract intentionally sensitive and confidential information from the Naval headquarters.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that Yadav was addicted to online gaming and, to meet his financial needs, began compromising national security. 

“He was supplying sensitive information to the female Pakistani handler and, in return, was receiving payments in USDT through his cryptocurrency trading account as well as direct transfers to his bank accounts,” Gupta added.

Gupta said the forensic analysis of chats and documents recovered from Yadav’s mobile phone revealed he had shared confidential naval and defence-related information with the Pakistani handler during Operation Sindoor, which was launched by India in the early hours of May 7.

Operation Sindoor was New Delhi’s direct military response to the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror strike that killed 26 innocent tourists. The operation, during which the military hit nine terror camps inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), killing more than 100 terrorists, triggered four days of strikes and counterstrikes involving drones, missiles, and long-range weapons before both sides reached an understanding to halt military action on May 10.

Several intelligence agencies are now jointly interrogating Yadav at the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur. “Security agencies are now trying to determine who else may be involved in the espionage racket and the extent of the sensitive information that has been leaked,” Gupta said.