Honey- trapped IAF group captain held on spying charges
An Indian Air Force group captain, posted at the air headquarters in Delhi, has been held by the IAF on suspicion that he may have been passing secret and classified documents to a woman he had befriended on social media.
While maintaining that the investigations are at a very preliminary stage and nothing can be conclusively said, a government source familiar with the development refused to speculate as to where the secret information was being finally sent with the woman being the medium.
The IAF official was held a few days back after surveillance was mounted on him after his ‘ suspicious’ behaviour in the office and his activity on social media platforms alerted the authorities.
The case is being handled by the IAF’s central security and investigation team which, among other duties, is also responsible routine counter intelligence surveillance.
The source told this newspaper: “It was discovered that an officer was indulging in certain unwanted activities through unauthorised electronic devices which is against existing orders. He has been taken into custody for further questioning.”
The headquarters of the three armed forces as well as the defence ministry is a sanitised zone and use of mobile phones and other such electronic devices is restricted.
Refusing to comment on the matter, the IAF refused even to identify the officer or his rank taking into account the sensitivity of the case.
The Pakistani spy agency ISI is adept at the use of women to ensnare Indian military, security and diplomatic to compel them to party with sensitive information.