ATS arrests Thane resident for sharing confidential information to Pakistani operative

His interrogation revealed that he had met the PIO through Facebook in November 2024, and then shared confidential information through WhatsApp for about five months

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra anti-terrorism squad (ATS) arrested a 27-year-old man allegedly sharing vital information about several important government establishments in India with a Pakistani intelligence operative (PIO) through WhatsApp between November 2024 and March 2025. The police also booked three of his accomplices who have not yet been identified.

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According to the police Ravi Verma, a resident of Kalwa, worked at a private firm in Navi Mumbai that provides maintenance services to government defence companies. His interrogation revealed that he had met the PIO through Facebook in November 2024, and then shared confidential information through WhatsApp for about five months.

The ATS has registered a case against Verma and two of his accomplices under sections 3(1)(b) (making a sketch, plan, model, or note, calculated to be useful to the enemy) and 5(a) (wrongful communication of secret information) of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and section 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.