A 42-year-old man from Rajasthan who was arrested by police on Sunday has revealed that he passed on information about the Indian Army’s movements to a female agent of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in exchange for her naked photos.
Satyanarayan Paliwal, who hails from Lathi village in Jaisalmer, is now in custody under the Official Secrets Act on charges of spying, according to officials. Caught spying for Pakistan, Paliwal said that women who came into contact with him on behalf of the ISI, would often share naked photos in exchange for more information about the Army’s movement in border areas and the Pokhran firing range.
Paliwal is the husband of a former sarpanch from Lathi village in Jaisalmer district. Paliwal told officials that since his wife was the sarpanch, he had access to the army’s activities. If an army exercise or movement was taking place, the concerned gram panchayat would have information on it, as the Army alerts surrounding villages to prevent any mishaps.
The ISI agent, who contacted Paliwal a couple of years ago on social media, posed as an Indian journalist and became very friendly with Paliwal. The two regularly chatted. Later, she started making video calls using a fake Indian number. After winning his confidence, she asked Paliwal to collect information about the army’s movements in Pokhran. Intelligence agencies got wind of the honey-trap and put him under surveillance. Intelligence agencies believe that he was in contact with the ISI for a long time.
The intelligence branch had been keeping a watch over Paliwal since one month after getting information regarding his spying. After his confession, he was brought to Jaipur on Sunday and a case was registered against him under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
Many documents on the Indian Army were found in his mobile, according to officials. Police said that a further probe is underway to determine if anyone else was involved.