Our Bureau
New Delhi
This Tuesday, on September 9th, the Delhi Police department arrested a Nepali national, Prabhat Kumar Chaurasiya, for supplying Indian SIM cards to be used by spy agencies for espionage against India. It was reported that he was allegedly lured by Pakistan’s ISI who had promised him to provide a visa for the United States and further opportunities in journalism.
Prabhat Kumar Chaurasiya, who is 43 years old native of Birganj in Nepal, was arrested from east Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar area on August 28 following a tip-off, as per the officials. Prabhat supplied Indian SIM cards and had gathered sensitive information about several defence establishments including the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Army units. He was providing this information to get a US visa and job opportunity.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik revealed that Chaurasiya had secured 16 SIM cards using Aadhaar credentials. He had then sent them to Nepal from where they were smuggled to Pakistan where they were used by ISI. Out of the 16, 11 were found to be active in Pakistan.
“Chaurasiya had procured at least 16 SIM cards of private telecom companies using Aadhaar credentials. He sent them to Nepal, from where the SIMs were smuggled further and handed over to ISI operatives,” DCP Kaushik said.
“Of these, 11 SIMs were found to be in active use on social media (WhatsApp) from Lahore, Bahawalpur and other places in Pakistan,” he added.
The DCP revealed that he had received input from secret sources about Pakistani handlers using Indian numbers. During the interrogation, Chaurasiya had revealed that he was lured by ISI operatives for a US Visa.
“Based on inputs from secret sources regarding misuse of Indian numbers by Pakistani handlers, a team mounted surveillance in Laxmi Nagar. Chaurasiya was apprehended from Vijay Block on August 28. During interrogation, he disclosed that he was lured by ISI operatives with the promise of a US visa and opportunities in journalism abroad,” Kaushik said.
