On Saturday, a 45-year-old man from Rajasthan’s Alwar district was arrested for allegedly spying for Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and sharing sensitive defence information through social media.
Officials said the accused, Mangat Singh, was produced before a special court in Jaipur on Saturday and sent to three days of police custody. Singh was arrested on Friday following sustained interrogation by Rajasthan’s intelligence unit.
Who is Mangat Singh?
Investigators allege that Singh had been in contact with a female Pakistani handler for nearly two years, using WhatsApp and other social media platforms to exchange messages, photos, and videos.
He, locally famous as ‘Siddh Purush’, worked in a factory in Alwa. Investigators say this Godman image allowed him to easily win the trust of people, including defence personnel and civilians in the area.
“He used religious gatherings to gain people's trust. During this time, he came in contact with several Army and BSF personnel,” said a public prosecutor familiar with the investigation, per the Hindustan Times.
Singh’s alleged links to a Pakistani ‘handler’
“He was in contact with the handler. He had saved the handler's numbers under the names such as ‘Isha Sharma’ and ‘Isha Boss’. He shared several photos and videos linked to Army and BSF movements, particularly from Alwar Cantonment and Ambala Cantonment areas.”
Singh received over ₹10,000 through multiple small transactions routed from Pakistan in exchange for the information. His phone allegedly contains records of coded messages referring to troop and convoy movements, including exchanges linked to Operation Sindoor.
Notably, the Rajasthan intelligence unit detained Singh earlier this week. Following interrogation by multiple security agencies, he was formally arrested under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) on Friday.
