NIA arrests Kolkata resident on espionage charge

📌 Summary:

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a Kolkata resident, Zafar Riaz alias Rizvi, for allegedly passing confidential security-related information to Pakistan Intelligence Officers (PIOs)

• A Look Out Circular had earlier been issued against him and proceedings begun to declare him a proclaimed offender; he was married to a Pakistani national, with their children also being Pakistani citizens

• He had earlier been convicted in an espionage case under the Indian Penal Code and the Official Secrets Act, and had been travelling frequently between India and Pakistan since 2005

• In a case registered by the NIA's Delhi unit in December 2025, the agency found he had been cultivated by PIOs to carry out espionage in India "in lieu of financial inducements and the promise of Pakistani citizenship"

• He allegedly supplied one-time passwords (OTPs) of Indian telecom mobile numbers to a PIO to activate WhatsApp accounts, which were then used to communicate secretly with another accused, Moti Ram Jat

• In May 2025 the NIA searched 15 locations across eight States (Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Assam and West Bengal) and arrested then-CRPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Moti Ram Jat (since dismissed), who had allegedly passed information to PIOs since 2023

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 (Internal Security) — espionage networks run by hostile state actors, the threat from foreign intelligence agencies, and the role of central investigation agencies.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is India's central counter-terrorism law enforcement agency, established under the NIA Act, 2008

• Espionage offences in India are governed by the Official Secrets Act, 1923

• A Look Out Circular (LOC) is a notice issued to monitor or restrict the movement of wanted persons at airports and border crossings

• A "proclaimed offender" is an accused declared so by a court after failing to appear despite a proclamation

🔑 Key Term: Espionage — the practice of secretly obtaining confidential or classified information, especially relating to national security, on behalf of a hostile foreign power.