Delhi Police's special cell arrested Mohammad Sahil and Sameera on Friday in an espionage case tied to a Pakistan-based module. Police say the couple helped move eight Indian SIM cards via Dubai, then used the numbers to support activity inside India through WhatsApp.
The arrests pull together two threads: a trail of mobile-phone chats and a cross-border handoff that police say started in 2024 and 2025. The pair were allegedly paid ₹30,000, and investigators say the phones they used contained incriminating chats with handlers.
Delhi Police's special cell case
The Delhi Police's special cell said the module was run by Pakistani intelligence operatives and that it had been tipped off about the network operating in Delhi and the National Capital Region. On Friday, police said the arrests of Sahil, 25, and Sameera, 21, were part of a wider inquiry into people in Delhi who provided logistical support and procured SIM cards.
Investigators said Sahil left his job in June 2022 and remained unemployed afterward. Police also said Sahil is an Indira Gandhi National Open University graduate, had worked with a lawyer, and planned to pursue a law course. Sameera completed her BA course through correspondence and worked at a call centre.
Eight Indian SIM cards via Dubai
Police said Sahil and Sameera worked for the module for two years. In that period, they allegedly procured Indian SIM cards and sent them to Pakistan via Dubai. Investigators said Pakistani intelligence operatives activated WhatsApp accounts on those numbers from Pakistan and then used the accounts to join Indian WhatsApp groups.
That sequence matters because it turns ordinary SIM cards into access points. Once the numbers were live on WhatsApp, police say the network could move into Indian groups, approach Indians, and collect sensitive information tied to Indian defence.
Pakistan intelligence operatives' instructions
Deputy police commissioner Narra Chaitanya said Sahil was allegedly in contact with a Pakistani agent on Instagram through Sameera. Police said that agent introduced the couple to a Pakistani intelligence operative. The operative allegedly cultivated Sahil and Sameera and persuaded them to work for the network for financial gains.
Chaitanya said the couple was allegedly tasked with recruitment in India for reconnaissance of cantonments and with sharing details of Indian Army personnel facing court-martial. He also said forensic analysis of Sahil's mobile phone helped investigators find incriminating chats with Pakistani agents.
Police said the operation also exposed how the handlers coordinated with over-ground workers and sleeper cells through encrypted communication platforms. The immediate focus now is on the rest of the module in Delhi and the National Capital Region, while investigators continue to identify the people the couple allegedly recruited and the groups they entered through WhatsApp.
