An ex-Brahmos engineer has been sentenced to life for spying for Pakistan's ISI.

An ex-Brahmos engineer has been sentenced to life for spying for Pakistan's ISI.

A Nagpur court has severely punished former Brahmos Aerospace engineer Nishant Agarwal for his role in an astonishing espionage case. Agarwal received a life sentence for disclosing private details about India's supersonic BrahMos cruise missile to Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Brahmos Aerospace employed Agarwal as a senior system engineer when they detained him in 2018 on suspicion of disclosing confidential information to alleged Pakistani intelligence agents. The inquiry turned up evidence that Agarwal was associated with two Facebook accounts, 'Neha Sharma' and 'Pooja Ranjan', which were thought to be run by ISI operatives stationed in Islamabad.

Judge MV Deshpande of the Additional Sessions Court found him guilty under Section 235 of the Criminal Procedure Code for an offence punishable under Section 66(f) of the IT Act and several sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA). The court fined Agarwal Rs. 3,000 and sentenced him to life in prison with 14 years of hard labour.

As a bright engineer and recipient of the coveted Young Scientist award from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Agarwal's activities were particularly concerning. His laid-back online persona and vulnerability to online honeytrap schemes made him a simple target for the Pakistani handlers.

The 2018 incident shocked the nation since it was the first espionage scandal involving Brahmos Aerospace, a joint venture between Russia's NPO Mashinostroyenia and India's DRDO that was in charge of creating the cutting-edge BrahMos missile system.

The case underscores the growing danger of cyber espionage and underscores the need for vigilante and cyber security measures, especially in sensitive areas such as defence research and development. The case serves as a sobering reminder that, without appropriate measures, even the most promising individuals can become targets of enemy operations.

Even though Agarwal is facing a harsh penalty, it emphasises how serious his acts were and how much damage they might have done to India's national security. All those engaged in delicate work should take note of the case and follow stringent procedures to protect confidential information.