Award-winning BrahMos engineer gets life in jail for spying for ISI

The Nagpur district court on June 3 sentenced Nishant Agarwal, a former award-winning engineer employed in the technical research section of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, to life imprisonment under the Official Secrets Act (OSA). 

He was caught spying for Pakistan's intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in 2018. 

In addition to the life sentence, Agarwal will serve 14 years of rigorous imprisonment and pay a fine of ₹3,000.

The court found Agarwal guilty under section 235 of the Criminal Procedure Code, an offence punishable under section 66(f) of the IT Act, and various sections of the OSA.

His arrest occurred during a joint operation by Military Intelligence and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Agarwal had worked at the BrahMos facility for four years and faced accusations of leaking sensitive technical information to Pakistan's ISI. 

BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's military Industrial Consortium (NPO Mashinostroyenia), plays a crucial role in India's defense sector.

Brahmos Aerospace, a crucial entity in India's defense sector and working in partnership with a Russian company, is instrumental in developing India's supersonic cruise missile with the capability of launching from land, air, and sea. 

Agarwal's case marked the first spy scandal involving BrahMos Aerospace. 

He maintained contact with suspected Pakistani intelligence operatives through two Facebook accounts—Neha Sharma and Pooja Ranjan—believed to be run by the ISI.

Agarwal shared sensitive information about the supersonic missile technology with Pakistan-based handlers of ISI using the social media platform Facebook. 

The agencies stated that Agarwal became an easy online target due to his “casual approach and reckless attitude,” allowing himself to be influenced by Pakistan-based handlers and sharing sensitive information about the Brahmos missile.

Despite winning the Young Scientist Award from the DRDO, the revelation that Agarwal shared sensitive information with the Pakistan spy agency was especially shocking for his colleagues, who considered him a hard-working, talented employee with a bright future.

Pakistan's intelligence agency is increasingly targeting Indian officials and security personnel on social media to extract sensitive information about India's defense programs, per security officials.