Indian agent goes on trial in Germany for spying on Sikh community

The trial of an Indian citizen charged with spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities in Germany for India’s secret service has begun in Frankfurt.  54-year-old Balvir S. is suspected of having had ties to India’s Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) since January 2015.

He allegedly collected information about the the Sikh and Kashmiri separatist movements in Germany for RAW senior officers at the Indian Consulate General in Frankfurt. 

A total of 10 hearings before the regional superior court in Frankfurt are scheduled, with the trial due to conclude on October 29.

The same court had convicted an Indian couple of spying in December last year. The husband was handed a suspended prison sentence of 18 months for acting as a foreign intelligence agent and his wife fined 180 days’ wages for aiding him. The couple were reported to have received €7,200 from RAW for their services.

This week, an Indian Consulate official in the South-West German town of Tübingen, near Stuttgart, was also questioned by the congregation on his visit to a local Gurdwara. The congregation told the official that although the Gurdwara remains open to all visitors, Indian officials were prevented from disseminating propaganda on the premises.

The Indian official was questioned by the congregation about cases against Sikh youth in Punjab under draconian UAPA law.

Germany is estimated to be home to about 20,000 Sikhs, the third-largest population of Sikhs in Europe after the UK and Italy.