- Vikas Yadav, the clerk arrested for spying for Pakistan, was under surveillance for two years
- His name came up during investigation in another spying case involving an employee in the Sena Bhavan
- Vikas Yadav was addicted to online gaming, and used the money he received to feed his addiction
It was a crypto currency trail that led intelligence agencies to upper division clerk Vikas Yadav in Nau Sena Bhavan, the naval wing of the Defence Ministry.
Mr Yadav was addicted to online gaming, sources said. A Pakistani woman identified as 'Priya Sharma' - clearly a fake name - befriended him on Facebook three years ago after seeing his addiction, and persuaded him into spying for Pakistan. Thereafter, she became her handler.
After that, he switched to communicating with her on WhatsApp and Telegram.
So, how exactly did intelligence operatives find out Mr Yadav, the upper division clerk in the Nau Sena Bhavan, was a spy?
The case goes back to another one linked to a spy, Ravi Prakash Meena, a Rajasthan resident who was arrested in 2022. Mr Meena was a Class 4 employee in the Defence Ministry's Sena Bhawan. Investigators found that Mr Meena received money through a cryptocurrency channel in return for providing sensitive information like maps to his Pakistani handler.
When intelligence agencies put Mr Meena's cryptocurrency channel under surveillance, they were led to two more people. One of them was Mr Yadav, the clerk in the Nau Sena Bhawan. They found that Mr Yadav had been getting money from the same cryptocurrency channel as Mr Meena.
Thereafter, intelligence operatives put Mr Yadav under surveillance for over two years before finally arresting him. A large sum of money was being transferred from this cryptocurrency channel to Mr Yadav, who in turn used the money to feed his online gaming addiction.
The intelligence agencies have got four-day custody of Mr Yadav. His mobile phone has been sent to a forensics laboratory.
The police suspect that Mr Yadav was scanning sensitive naval documents and sending them to his Pakistani handler, 'Priya Sharma'.
The method used by the Pakistani handlers is clear. They looked for clerical staff in the Defence Ministry and either lured them with honeytrap or offered money to give sensitive information.
Intelligence agencies also suspect Mr Yadav gave sensitive information during Operation Sindoor.
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