Amaravati, Oct 28 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh police have arrested two more persons in an espionage case involving Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs), who allegedly used OTPs linked to Indian SIM cards to activate Whatsapp accounts.
Both the arrested hail from Bihar, an official statement on Wednesday said. The arrests were made during Phase II of Operation Firewall-2026, launched on October 25.
“The Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell (AP CI Cell) has apprehended two more persons in Bihar in connection with an espionage network involving Pakistani intelligence operatives, who allegedly used OTPs linked to Indian SIM cards to activate WhatsApp accounts,” it said.
The accused were identified as Raja Kumar, a point-of-sale (POS) agent and Aditya Kumar alias Aditya Kumar Pandey, both residents of Raxaul in Bihar.
The two accused persons were produced before the jurisdictional court at Vijayawada on Wednesday and remanded to judicial custody till November 10, it said.
The investigation revealed that Raja Kumar allegedly facilitated the activation of Whatsapp accounts linked to several Indian mobile numbers by sharing their OTPs with Pakistani intelligence operatives through handlers in Nepal.
He also allegedly arranged a mobile payments bank account in another person’s name to receive payments for SIM-card OTPs, with a substantial amount deposited into the account, it said.
One of the Pakistani intelligence operatives, using the name “Soni” or “Soni Queen”, allegedly contacted Annam Sai Vara Prasad, a civilian contract driver engaged by naval officials in Visakhapatnam and obtained classified information about warships and submarines of the Eastern Naval Command.
Another operative, identified as “Joshita Pall”, allegedly attempted to obtain classified information from personnel in Visakhapatnam by transferring money to induce them, police said.
Aditya Kumar allegedly worked with Raja Kumar, other persons in Raxaul and Pakistani agents identified as Wasim, Sultan and Nayeem. He allegedly facilitated Whatsapp account activation using Indian SIM-card OTPs and communicated with Pakistani agents through encrypted platforms, the release added.
The AP CI Cell registered a case on September 2 under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Official Secrets Act, 1923, based on information about suspected espionage activities targeting naval and defence establishments.
As part of the investigation, the police arrested Annam Sai Vara Prasad in Visakhapatnam on October 1 and Pradip Mukharjee, a naval employee at the Visakhapatnam Naval Base, in Coimbatore on October 3. Both are currently lodged in Vijayawada District Jail. PTI MS SA
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