MEA Aware Of Embassy Staffer's Arrest On Spying Charges, Working With Investigative Teams: Sources

The Ministry of External Affairs is aware of the arrest of embassy staffer, Satendra Siwal, who was arrested in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh on spying charges, sources said on Sunday.

"MEA continues to work with the investigative authorities in the matter," sources added.

Siwal was posted as the IBSA (India-Based Security Assistant) at the Indian Embassy in Moscow and was arrested for allegedly providing 'confidential' information to Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.

Siwal, a resident of the Hapur district in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by the ATS for his alleged involvement in "anti-India activities," according to an official statement by UP Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) issued on Sunday.

Siwal provided ISI with important confidential information, especially with regard to strategic activities of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian military establishment, in lieu of money.

He had been working in the Ministry of External Affairs and was posted as the IBSA (India-Based Security Assistant) in the Indian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, in 2021, the statement added.

As per the statement, Siwal was called to the ATS field unit in Meerut and confessed to his crime in the face of questioning.

An FIR was registered in the matter under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Further investigation is underway in the case. (ANI)