A court in Vijayawada on Wednesday sent two men from Bihar to 14 days' judicial custody till November 10 in the espionage case being probed under 'Operation Firewall-2026', the Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell (CIC) said.

Source: The Hindu

The two accused, Raja Kumar and Aditya Kumar, are natives of Raxaul, the border town in East Champaran district of Bihar near Nepal. They were arrested in a joint operation by the Andhra Pradesh CIC and the Bihar Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

Police allege that the two shared one-time passwords (OTPs) of Indian SIM cards with Pakistani intelligence operatives, and that such OTPs are used to activate messaging accounts for espionage activities. These are allegations made by the police; they have not been proved in court, and the investigation is still ongoing, the CIC said.

Part of the wider Operation Firewall-2026 probe

The arrests come days after several suspects, including a Visakhapatnam-based naval officer, were held in the same operation. Agency reporting on Operation Firewall-2026 has said investigators identified 18 suspects, including 13 naval personnel, across 10 states, and that the case was registered on September 2 at the Counter Intelligence police station in Vijayawada under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Official Secrets Act.

Source: The Hans India

With Wednesday's remand, the two Raxaul men will remain in judicial custody till November 10 while investigators continue to examine the alleged OTP-sharing network, officials said.