Spy trail from Delhi to Bahawalpur: Nepal man held in ISI SIM card racket; 11 numbers traced to Pakistan ops

NEW DELHI: While tracking an Indian SIM card being used in Bahawalpur in Pakistan, Delhi Police's special cell has stumbled upon an espionage module. It has arrested a 43-year-old Nepal national who was allegedly engaged in anti-India activities at the behest of Pakistan's ISI.The suspect, Prabhat Kumar Chaurasiya, came on the police's radar after he was found procuring and supplying SIM cards to ISI operatives. "Using his Aadhaar card registered at Latur, Maharashtra, Chaurasiya procured 16 SIM cards from Bihar and Maharashtra. After activation, these were smuggled to Kathmandu, Nepal through conduits and were subsequently handed over to ISI handlers," additional commissioner Pramod Singh Kushwaha said.Eleven of these SIMs were being operated on WhatsApp from Lahore, Bahawalpur, and other parts of Pakistan to establish contact with Indian Army personnel and to pursue sensitive espionage objectives, the officer added.

The Jaish headquarters destroyed in Operation Sindoor was located in Bahawalpur.The role of a prominent businessman from Nepal has come to fore as Chaurasiya's handler, sources said. The businessman is an ISI conduit who was handling Chaurasiya and several other spies and is supposedly a key figure in the ongoing Gen-Z-led unrest in that country, they added.

The investigation has revealed that Chaurasiya was lured by ISI handlers in 2024 through a Nepalese intermediary with promises of a US visa and opportunities in journalism abroad. In return, he was tasked with supplying SIM cards and collecting information related to DRDO and Army establishments.

During the arrest, the police recovered digital devices containing incriminating material and multiple SIM card envelopes.

Chaurasiya, who had previously worked as a medical representative and set up his own firm in Kathmandu, claimed that he was desperate to go abroad and agreed to work with ISI operatives after his business collapsed due to heavy financial losses.The operation was conducted by a team comprising ACP Kailash Bisht and inspectors Rahul Kumar and Vineet Tewatia. "On the basis of inputs received from sources regarding misuse of Indian mobile numbers in Pakistan, a probe was initiated," said a senior cop.Chaurasiya, a resident of Birgunj in Nepal, was found to be living in Vijay Block, Laxmi Nagar. He was apprehended a few days ago and a case was registered under Sections 61 (2)/152 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Investigation is underway to identify Chaurasiya's accomplices, trace the courier network and apprehend the foreign handlers involved. His background is also being probed. Digital devices containing incriminating material and multiple SIM cards envelopes have been seized and are being analysed.Born in 1982, Chaurasiya completed his matriculation in Nepal, pursued intermediate studies in Motihari, Bihar and later obtained a BSc degree and a diploma in computer hardware and networking. He worked in Mumbai.