Punjab man arrested for spying for Pakistan’s ISI; sent Army details via WhatsApp

A Punjab resident has been arrested by Rajasthan’s CID (Intelligence) for allegedly collecting classified information about Indian Army installations and sharing them with a Pakistani handler, officials said on Monday.

Prakash Singh alias Badal, 34, a resident of Firozpur, was detained near a military establishment in Ganganagar district and later booked under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

According to Inspector General (Intelligence) Prafful Kumar, the CID had been tracking suspicious espionage activity linked to Pakistani intelligence agencies when Singh came under scrutiny.

“During surveillance, it emerged that Prakash Singh was in contact with Pakistan's ISI through social media. He was gathering sensitive information linked to the army in Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat and sending it to a Pakistani handler,” Kumar said.

Officials said Singh was intercepted near the Sadulwali military station on November 27. A Border Intelligence team detained him, and an initial scan of his mobile phone allegedly showed ongoing communication with foreign and Pakistani WhatsApp numbers.

Investigators said Singh had been in touch with ISI operatives since the period of Operation Sindoor and had shared details such as:

• Movement of Army vehicles

• Locations of military installations

• Border-area geography

• Railway lines, bridges and infrastructure

• Updates on construction activity in sensitive zones

The CID further alleged that Singh helped Pakistani handlers create Indian WhatsApp accounts by illegally procuring OTPs issued to Indian mobile numbers. These accounts were then used by operatives across the border for espionage and “other anti-national activities”. Officials said Singh was paid for facilitating these operations.

Following detailed interrogation at the central facility in Jaipur and technical analysis of his devices, investigators said the espionage links were “confirmed”.