New Delhi: A complaint by a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officer staying at the organisation’s guest house at the Pokhran Field Firing Range has blown the lid off a five-year-long suspected spying module, allegedly run by the guest house manager, ThePrint has learnt.
Based on “reliable” information, the Jaisalmer district police detained the manager 5 August for questioning, and a preliminary review of his mobile phone revealed the extent of the information he had passed on to Pakistani intelligence operatives. However, no First Information Report has been filed yet.
Sources in the security establishment told ThePrint that the guest house manager, identified as Mahendra Prasad, had been sharing PDF documents containing lists of guests staying at the guest house for the past five years.
According to a source, the list of guests helped Pakistani intelligence operative gauge the level of tests or the kind of projects underway at the Pokhran range.
A resident of Uttarakhand’s Almora district, Prasad has been working at the DRDO guest house since 2019.
Situated around 200 kilometres from the Pakistan border in the Jaisalmer district, the Pokhran range serves as India’s testing site for weapons and related facilities.
“Upon verification of intelligence inputs about his suspicious activities, Prasad was taken into custody for questioning by the local police. He was detained for comprehensive questioning by a Joint Interrogation Committee (JIC) comprising officials from the intelligence agencies and Border Security Force,” a source in the security establishment told ThePrint.
While officials were tight-lipped about the specific details of the case, ThePrint has learnt that Prasad was posted at the same DRDO guest house during Operation Sindoor, which saw attacks by Pakistan armed forces against Indian defence establishments, including the Jaisalmer Air Force Station.
A First Information Report is yet to be filed, and it will be based on the report of the JIC, which will determine the course of action.
Law enforcement agencies, including state police forces, have been on high alert against suspicious individuals passing on sensitive and confidential information to Pakistani operatives through communication apps or social media.
Police forces in Punjab, Haryana, as well as the National Investigation Agency, have arrested several individuals on charges of spying, including personnel from the Indian Army and the Central Reserve Police Force, in the last couple of months.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)