Mahendra Prasad was working as the manager of the DRDO Guest House at the Chandan Field Firing Range. Photo: X/ANI
DRDO guest house manager in Jaisalmer arrested for spying for Pak's ISI
Mahendra Prasad, a contractual employee, allegedly leaked confidential information about missile tests and army officers to Pakistani handlers via social media
A manager at the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) guest house in Jaisalmer has been arrested on espionage charges for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The accused, Mahendra Prasad (32), was arrested on Tuesday (August 12) by Rajasthan’s CID (Security) Intelligence for allegedly passing confidential information to Pakistan.
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Shared confidential information
Mahendra Prasad was working as the manager of the DRDO Guest House at the Chandan Field Firing Range in Jaisalmer. He has been working at the guest house since 2008.
A resident of Palyun, Almora in Uttarakhand, Prasad was employed as a contractual manager at the guest house. He is accused of allegedly sharing confidential and strategic information about India with contacts across the border.
His arrest comes amid a series of espionage cases reported nationwide this year following Operation Sindoor in early May.
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Security breach
Inspector General of Police, CID (Security), Rajasthan, Dr Vishnukant, said that ahead of Independence Day, intelligence agencies had heightened monitoring of anti-national and subversive activities.
During this surveillance, it was found that Mahendra Prasad was communicating with the Pakistani intelligence agency through social media.
He was said to be in constant touch with a Pakistani intelligence handler and was leaking sensitive information about India's defence activities across the border, raising concerns over sensitive security breaches.
He was allegedly providing confidential information about the movement of DRDO scientists and Indian Army officers visiting the firing range for missile and weapons testing to handlers in Pakistan.
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Joint interrogation
Following these findings, the suspect was jointly interrogated by various intelligence agencies at the Central Interrogation Centre in Jaipur.
A detailed technical examination of his mobile phone confirmed that he was sharing sensitive information related to the DRDO and Indian Army with Pakistani handlers.
On August 12, a case was registered against him under the Official Secrets Act, 1923. He was arrested by the Rajasthan CID Intelligence and will be produced before the court on Wednesday (August 13), and will be taken on remand for further interrogation.
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Investigation underway
The Jaisalmer facility is a high-security site used for testing strategic defence equipment and is frequently visited by senior military officials, scientists, and defence experts.
Authorities are now investigating the scale of the security breach and the possible involvement of others in the network.
According to ThePrint, for the past five years, Mahendra Prasad had allegedly been sending PDF files containing details of guests staying at the facility, information that could help Pakistani operatives deduce the nature of tests or projects at the Pokhran range.
The report also noted that Prasad was posted at the same DRDO guest house during Operation Sindoor, when Pakistani armed forces attacked Indian defence installations, including the Jaisalmer Air Force Station.