Amid the arrest of YouTubers across the country, Nishant Agarwal, who was arrested in 2018 on charges of providing intelligence documents to the ISI, Now in headlines.
After the arrest of youtuber Jyoti Malhotra and Jaan Mahal, Brahmos Aerospace Engineer Nishant Agarwal’s name has been in the Headlines. Brahmos Aerospace Engineer Nishant Agarwal was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Nagpur Sessions Court on June 3, 2024, for leaking Indian military secrets to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) under the Official Secrets Act and the IT Act.
Agarwal, who was arrested in 2018, was accused of sharing sensitive information about Brahmos missiles after posing as a woman on social media by Pakistani intelligence agents. Agarwal worked at a missile assembly unit in Nagpur, which contributed to the supply of about 80 missiles to India’s armed forces.
During the investigation, classified missile data, including technical details of the CK-310 missile, was found on his personal laptop, which he did not have official permission to store. In August 2024, the Bombay High Court had cancelled his bail, citing the seriousness of the crime and evidence that his social media accounts were being run by Pakistan’s ISI.
Agarwal, a graduate of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Kurukshetra and recipient of the Young Scientist Award from DRDO in 2017-18, has appealed against his conviction, and the case is pending in the High Court.
Some Important Achievements Of Agarwal
● Graduate of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Kurukshetra
● He joined BrahMos Aerospace, a prestigious Indo-Russian joint venture
● DRDO Young Scientist Award (2017-18)
● Key role in the production and delivery of around 80 Brahmos missiles to India’s armed forces
● Worked on critical aspects of missile assembly and integration
Nishant Agrawal was arrested in October 2018 for allegedly leaking classified military secrets to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The key reasons for his arrest include:
Espionage Charges: Agrawal, a former BrahMos Aerospace engineer, was accused of sharing sensitive technical details about the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with ISI operatives. He was contacted through social media by individuals posing as women, later identified as Pakistani intelligence agents.
Unauthorized Data Storage: Classified information, including details of the CK-310 missile, was found on his personal laptop, which violated security protocols as he was not authorized to store such data.
Violation of Official Secrets Act: His actions were deemed a breach of national security under the Official Secrets Act and the IT Act, leading to his arrest by a joint team of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squads in Nagpur.
Evidence of ISI Contact: Investigations revealed that his social media accounts were likely operated by ISI agents, and he was suspected of being honey-trapped into sharing confidential information.
These factors led to his arrest, followed by a life sentence in June 2024 by a Nagpur court, with his case now under appeal in the Bombay High Court.