India arrests Moscow embassy security employee for spying for Pakistan
February 5, 2024 3 Comments
AUTHORITIES IN INDIA HAVE arrested a security employee at the Indian High Commission in Russia, accusing him of spying for Pakistani intelligence. The embassy of India in Moscow is one of its largest in the world and is viewed as critical to New Delhi’s strategic relations with Russia. Employees that staff the Moscow embassy are highly vetted and typically represent the cream of the crop of India’s Ministry of External Affairs. It follows that news of the arrest of a Moscow embassy security employee on espionage charges must have raised eyebrows in India.
The employee in question has been identified in news reports as Satendra Siwal, a resident of the village of Shahmahiuddinpur, located in the Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh. He is believed to have been employed as an India-Based Security Assistant (IBSA) at the Indian embassy in Moscow since 2021. Siwal reportedly belongs to the embassy’s Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS), a broad job title that encompasses a variety technical support specialists working at India’s diplomatic facilities worldwide.
According to reports, Siwal was arrested by members of the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in the northern Indian city of Meerut, 250 miles northeast of New Delhi. He was charged with participating in “anti-India activities”, which included providing government secrets to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate. According to the ATS, the secrets given to the ISI by Siwal included information about strategic planning by the Indian Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of External Affairs (Siwal’s direct employer), and the Indian military. Siwal allegedly spied for the ISI in exchange for financial compensation.
Indian authorities said the case against Siwal was built with the help of “electronic surveillance” and other “evidence collection”, but did not provide details. In a statement issued on Monday, the ATS said Siwal had allegedly “confessed to his crime” during questioning. The espionage suspect is now facing charges under India’s Official Secrets Act.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 5 February 2024 | Permalink
intelNews.org 
Ok OK so they tapped to his phone, they followed him , read his emails and I wonder what secrets a multi tasking technical officer could have passed to the enemy ? AND why the hell is India having such a huge staff in Moscow anyway? Are they sure he worked alone without a little help from FSB for instance?
Shahmahiuddinpur does not exist!
So the Hindustan Times reports https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/who-is-satendra-siwal-indian-embassy-staffer-accused-of-spying-for-pakistan-101707050569957.html :
Siwal “provided sensitive information about strategic activities of the ministry of defence, ministry of external affairs, and Indian military establishments for money.”
The news reports point to one of India’s Anti-Terrorism Squads (ATS. But this may be cover for an operation against Siwal basically run by India’s security service, the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
The Indian Embassy in Moscow is large, in part, because India is a major arms buyer from Russia. This includes submarine nuclear reactors and India leasing Russian nuclear attack submarines (SSNs). See https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2021/08/satellite-photos-ins-arihant-arighat.html
India may also be a buyer of Russian nuclear missile designs and recipient of Russian thermonuclear test results.
India has also bought 1,000s of Russian tanks and warplanes over the years. More see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93Russia_relations#Military_relationship
If Siwal had access to secrets about any of the above it would be of great interest to Pakistan and to Pakistan’s ally, China, given Pakistan and China trade intelligence.