BSF JAWAN ‘HONEYTRAPPED’ BY ISI, HELD ON SPYING CHARGE

LUCKNOW: A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan, alleged to have been “honey-trapped” by Pakistan’s Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) over Facebook, has been arrested from Noida on charges of spying by Uttar Pradesh’s anti-terror squad (ATS), state director general of police (DGP) OP Singh said Wednesday.

Achyutanand Mishra, posted at the composite hospital of BSF in Delhi, befriended a person, believed to be a woman, who was using a fake Facebook ID and who had posed as a defence reporter working since January 2016.

Her mobile number, registered in Pakistan, was saved on his phone as ‘Pakistani dost’ (Pakistan-based friend), Singh said.

Singh told the media that preliminary investigations revealed Mishra shared crucial information about the armed forces and the movement of troops with the ‘woman’. He also used to chat with her over Whatsapp.

“The jawan shared the unit’s location, details of armoury, photographs and videos of BSF premises and information about the training academy in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh, with her.

We have extracted details from his Facebook profile and mobile phone, which proves that he had been sharing information since January 2016,” Singh said.

Mishra, who hails from Rewa in Madhya Pradesh and was inducted into the BSF in 2006, has been booked on charges of sedition and leaking secret information to ISI, the DGP said, adding there is enough evidence to prove that he has committed crime under the Official Secrets Act.