Published Oct 28, 2026 | 8:40 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 28, 2026 | 8:40 PM
Rajkumar and Aditya Kumar Pandey have been accused of passing OTPs to Pakistani spies.
The Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell (APCIC) has arrested two more individuals as part of the investigation into the alleged cross-border espionage network.
Rajkumar and Aditya Kumar Pandey, residents of Raxaul, a town on the Nepal border in Bihar, have been accused of passing one-time passwords (OTPs) linked to Indian SIM cards to Pakistani spies.
The accused were produced before the relevant court in Vijayawada on Wednesday, October 28 and remanded to judicial custody until November 10.
According to police, the accused allegedly assisted in activating WhatsApp accounts using Indian mobile numbers in Pakistan by sharing OTPs. These accounts are suspected of being used by Pakistani intelligence operatives for espionage activities.
They said the two were arrested based on preliminary evidence that emerged during the investigation.
The arrests were made as part of the second phase of ‘Operation Firewall’ by the APCIC, launched on October 25. With the assistance of the Bihar Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and local police, five suspects were questioned in Raxaul, and electronic devices were seized from them.
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According to police, Rajkumar, who worked as a point-of-sale (PoS) agent in Raxaul, allegedly passed on the OTPs to handlers in Pakistan through intermediaries in Nepal.
Rajkumar had an Airtel Payments Bank account opened in another person’s name to receive money generated through the operation, police said. A significant amount of money was deposited into the account, they said.
The police, in a statement, said that a Pakistani agent who identified themselves as “Soni/Soni Queen” contacted Annam Sai Varaprasad –a contract driver for naval officers in Visakhapatnam who was arrested earlier this month over espionage allegations– through one of the numbers obtained through the accused.
The agent allegedly obtained classified information about warships and submarines belonging to the Eastern Naval Command from Varaprasad.
The investigation also found that another Pakistani agent, identified as “Joshita Pal,” had sent money to personnel in Visakhapatnam and attempted to gather classified information from them.
According to police, Aditya Kumar Pandey was in contact with Pakistani agents identified as Waseem, Sultan and Naeem.
Pandey allegedly assisted in activating WhatsApp accounts using OTPs from Indian SIM cards and communicated with agents via WhatsApp and other encrypted communication platforms. Police said the money obtained from these activities was received through an Airtel Payments Bank account held in the names of other individuals.
APCIC registered a case related to the matter under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Official Secrets Act, on September 2.
The investigation was launched based on intelligence inputs that Pakistani operatives were gathering classified information on strategic naval assets and defence establishments in Visakhapatnam.
Annam Sai Varaprasad was arrested on October 1, followed by Pradeep Mukherjee, an employee of the Visakhapatnam Naval Base, who was arrested in Coimbatore on October 3. Both remain in judicial custody at Vijayawada District Jail.
With the recent arrests, the investigators have turned their focus toward a wider operational network.
Andhra Pradesh Police stated that they are working alongside central agencies to safeguard national security and sovereignty, adding that further details will be released as the investigation progresses.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
