 "Officials said his arrest came after a long period of surveillance. Image: X/ANI")
The manager of a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) guest house in Jaisalmer has been taken into custody for allegedly spying and sharing sensitive details with the Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI.
Mahendra Prasad, who hails from Almora in Uttarakhand, was serving as the manager of the DRDO guest house in the Chandan area of Jaisalmer. He was arrested on August 4.
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Notably, he had been working at the guest house since 2008.
The arrest comes after a string of espionage-related cases reported across the country this year, following the major Operation Sindoor in early May.
So, who is the DRDO guest house manager now under arrest? How was he involved in spying?
Here’s what we know:
Who is Mahendra Prasad? How was he spying for Pakistan?
The accused was posted at the Pokhran Field Firing Range guest house, a high-security location regularly visited by top defence experts, scientists and senior military officers
Officials said his arrest came after a long period of surveillance.
An initial check of his mobile phone showed the scale of information he had shared with Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Sources told ThePrint that for the past five years, Prasad had been sending PDF files containing details of guests staying at the facility.
According to the report, these guest lists helped Pakistani operatives assess the nature of tests or projects taking place at the Pokhran range.
IG (Security) Vishnukant told The Times of India that the accused had been giving details about the visits of DRDO scientists and Indian Army officers to the Chandan Field Firing Range in Jaisalmer.
“He also passed on information about missile and other weapons testing,” Vishnukant told the publication.
“Important evidence of espionage has been found from his mobile and chats," officials said, adding that the leak may have been happening for a long time. The sensitivity of the leaked material and the duration of the breach are now being examined closely.
Located about 200 kilometres from the Pakistan border in Jaisalmer district, the Pokhran range is India’s main testing site for weapons and related facilities.
Prasad was taken in for detailed questioning by a Joint Interrogation Committee comprising officers from intelligence agencies and the Border Security Force, a source told ThePrint.
The report also said that Prasad was posted at the same DRDO guest house during Operation Sindoor , when Pakistani armed forces attacked Indian defence sites, including the Jaisalmer Air Force Station.
Security agencies, including state police, remain on alert for individuals suspected of sending confidential information to Pakistani operatives through communication apps or social media.
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Espionage-related arrests post Operation Sindoor
The arrest is part of a wider crackdown on espionage cases in the region.
Just days earlier, another alleged Pakistani spy, Shakoor Khan, a government employee with influential contacts, was also held in Jaisalmer. Agencies said “important evidence of espionage" was recovered from his mobile phone.
Indian authorities began a nationwide operation against suspected Pakistani spies after the Pahalgam terror attack and recent military tensions between the two countries.
In May this year, more than 15 people were arrested from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states for allegedly spying for Pakistan and sharing sensitive Indian military information with Pakistani operatives.
Among those arrested was Jyoti Malhotra , a YouTuber with thousands of followers, taken into custody by Haryana Police in Hisar.
Others included Devendra Singh, a 25-year-old postgraduate student from Kaithal in Haryana, and Shahzad, a businessman from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
Later in May, the National Investigation Agency arrested Moti Ram Jat , a jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force. Officials said he had been passing important national security information to Pakistan intelligence officers since 2023.
Soon after the Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor early on May 7. Indian forces targeted terror facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, killing over 100 militants linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Following India’s strikes on these terror hubs, Pakistan carried out cross-border shelling, attempted drone attacks and engaged in air defence action.
In retaliation, Indian counterstrikes damaged Pakistan’s radar systems, communication centres and airfields at 11 key locations, including the Nur Khan air base.
On May 10, both countries agreed to stop all firing and military activity on land, in the air and at sea, with immediate effect.
With inputs from agencies