Two arrested, including a naval personnel, for spying for Pakistan; 18 suspects under investigation in Operation Firewall-2026

The Counter Intelligence (CI) cell of the Andhra Pradesh Police has arrested two people under 'Operation Firewall-2026' in a case of alleged contact with Pakistani intelligence agents. According to the police, a total of 18 suspects are under the scanner in the case, including 13 naval personnel. Both the arrested accused are charged with passing sensitive information related to the Navy and defense establishments to Pakistani intelligence operatives. The Andhra Pradesh Police provided this information in a statement issued on Tuesday (6 October).

Who are the arrested accused

The police arrested Pradeep Mukherjee, an employee at the Visakhapatnam Naval Base (the spelling of Mukherjee is also written as “Mukherjee” in some reports), from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. It is alleged that he provided an OTP to activate a WhatsApp account for a Pakistani intelligence operative, remained in contact with them, and shared sensitive information related to the Navy and defense establishments.

The second accused, Annam Sai Varaprasad, is a civilian contract driver appointed for naval officers in Visakhapatnam. According to the police, he is accused of providing sensitive information to a Pakistani intelligence agent and receiving money in return. Varaprasad has been sent to judicial remand until 14 October, and according to reports, both accused are in the same jail. These are all police allegations, which are yet to be proven in court.

What is Operation Firewall-2026

According to the police, the CI cell had received credible information about individuals who were allegedly in direct contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives and could be involved in a conspiracy harmful to the country's security. Based on this, a coordinated operation was launched on 1 October across 10 states, which was named 'Operation Firewall-2026'. According to a report, 12 teams of the CI cell were deployed in the operation.

According to the statement, the roles of 18 suspects were investigated with the help of the ATS, naval officers, and local police, and their electronic devices were seized. The investigation into the roles of the remaining suspects is ongoing. The police have not made the names of all 18 suspects public.

Key point

The fact that 13 naval personnel are “on the radar” does not mean that the charges have been proven against all of them. Currently, only two of them have been arrested, and the roles of the others are under investigation. I did not find any official statement available from the Navy on this matter.

Such cases have occurred before

Naval espionage networks linked to Visakhapatnam have surfaced in the past as well. In the 2019 Visakhapatnam espionage case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested several people, including 11 naval personnel. In March this year, the Uttar Pradesh ATS also arrested a 24-year-old naval personnel on charges of spying for the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI.