27-yr-old Kasganj man, honey-trapped by Pak spy over Facebook, arrested: Police

Police said the UP man has been charged with waging war against the nation and a provision of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act

LUCKNOW: A 27-year-old Kasganj man, who had worked as a porter for an army unit for nine months in the pst, has been arrested by Uttar Pradesh’s anti-terror squad (ATS) for allegedly passing information to Pakistani spies who honey-trapped him via Facebook last year, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday

FILE: Police said the 27-year-old UP man from Kasganj was possibly targeted by Pakistan ISI spies because he posted a photograph that showed him in an army uniform (AP File)

Shailesh Kumar alias Shailendra Singh Chauhan created a Facebook profile in the name of Shailesh Chauhan. His profile described him as army personnel and he had put out a photograph in which he was wearing an army soldier’s uniform, Prashant Kumar, UP’s special director general (law and order) said in a statement. He was also paid for his information via a mobile application.

Police said Shailesh Kumar had worked as a porter with an army unit in Arunachal Pradesh for nine months and picked up some information about the army’s movement and installations.

At some point, Shailesh Kumar was approached by a woman who identified herself as Harleen Kaur. Police said it was a pseudonym used by an agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence who tempted him to have intimate conversations. Later, a second agent, who identified herself as Preeti, also made contact with him over WhatsApp.

A police officer said the initial conversations were mostly sex chats. Once the two sides established a relationship, the women started pumping Shailesh Kumar for information.

“He shared information from time to time about the movement of army’s vehicles and installations to Preeti as well as Harleen,” the official said. He was paid by the ISI handlers through the Phone Pe application on his phone.

The official said it was not uncommon for intelligence agencies to develop bits of information into something that could be used to its advantage.

ATS said Shailesh Kumar has been booked under sections 121 (A) [for conspiring to wage war against the country] and 171 [impersonating a public servant] of the Indian Penal Code and section 13 [abetting, inciting or taking part in unlawful activity] of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act

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