A soldier allegedly caught passing information to operatives of Pakistan spy agency ISI after being honey-trapped on social media, has been arrested, the Army confirmed today. He was produced in court and will be interrogated by intelligence officials. Sources, however said, the information is unlikely to be sensitive since he is too junior to have access to it, the website ndtv.com reports.
The soldier, identified as Sombir, was posted in the Armoured Corps in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district. He was chatting regularly on Facebook with an ISI operative who used the profile 'Anika Chopra' and exchanging information about his unit and its movement. The Army is now tracking multiple Facebook accounts to see if the Pakistan operatives are in touch any other jawan or officers.
"The jawan has been arrested in Jaisalmer by the Rajasthan Police and the Army is providing all possible assistance to the civilian authorities in this investigation," news agency ANI quoted defence official Colonel Sambit Ghosh as saying.
Last February, a senior officer of the Indian Air Force was accused of passing classified information to a woman he had reportedly befriended on Facebook. The woman was suspected to be a spy who appeared to have honey-trapped the Delhi-based Group Captain-rank officer. The matter came out during routine counter-intelligence surveillance.
There are very strict guidelines on the use of social media in the armed forces that restricts soldiers from sharing their identity, rank, posting and other professional details. They are also not allowed to post photographs that show them wearing uniform.
