Spying For Pakistan: When A Woman MEA Official Was Arrested On Charges Of Espionage In 2010

Satendra Siwal was posted in the Indian Embassy in Moscow and was put under surveillance and was arrested upon his return to India.

In a turn of events, the Uttar Pradesh ATS arrested Satendra Siwal, a resident of the Hapur district, for his alleged involvement in anti-India activities and spying for Pakistan. Siwal was posted in the Indian Embassy in Moscow and was put under surveillance and was arrested upon his return to India. The case reminds of the 2010 incident when a woman official posted in the Indian Embassy in Islamabad was arrested on similar charges and was later convicted for three years in 2018. She was Madhuri Gupta.

Who Was Madhuri Gupta?

Madhuri Gupta was an Indian Foreign Service officer. She was arrested in 2010 and was charged under the Official Secrets Act of 1923. She was found guilty of supplying sensitive information to a Pakistani official through a journalist. She died in 2021. 

What Is The Case?

Just one and half years after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack that was carried out by Pakistan, the Intelligence Bureau and Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) received the news about a spy in the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. The government was informed and the spy - Madhuri Gupta - a mid-ranking official with a secretary post was put under surveillance. She was fed false information and the flow of the data was tracked. It confirmed that Gupta was leaking info to a Pakistani official and was spying for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.

Secret Investigation, Planned Arrest

Since the matter was sensitive, the investigation was kept secret and only three to four top officials of the RAW and IB were aware of the issue. After confirmation, Gupta was called to Delhi on the pretext of handling media relations for a SAARC summit to be held in Bhutan later in 2010. 

Unaware of the ongoing investigation, Gupta landed in Delhi on 21 April and spent the night at her home in West Delhi. When she arrived at the MEA office in South Block the next day, she was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. 

While Pakistan's ISI has honey-trapped many Indians including soldiers and officials in the past, the issue highlights the fact that how intelligence officials remain on their toes to keep the country safe.