Two, including woman, detained over allegations of espionage: Gujarat ATS

Two individuals, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly sharing classified information with Pakistan-based handlers

Two persons including a woman, were arrested on Thursday over allegations of espionage for sending sensitive information related to national security to Pakistan, the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) said in a statement.

Evidence recovered from the mobile phones of both accused includes WhatsApp calls from international numbers. (Representative file photo)

Ajaykumar Surendrasingh Singh, 47, a retired Army Subedar residing in Nuvem, Madgaon in South Goa and originally from Bihar, and Rashmani Ravindrapal, 35, from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, hailing from Uttar Pradesh, have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to the ATS probe, technical analysis, human sources and financial intelligence indicated that Pakistan’s intelligence officers were using social media, messaging applications and fabricated online profiles to obtain secret and sensitive information from Indian men, women and security-related personnel in exchange for financial assistance.

Senior ATS officials ordered a detailed investigation after the activity was found to be criminal in nature.

“The inquiry showed that a handler using the name Ankita Sharma had contacted Ajaykumar during his posting in Dimapur in Nagaland in 2022. The handler sought information on Army units, postings of officers and personnel and their movements. Ajaykumar shared details of transfers and stationing of units. The handler later sent a trojan malware file to his phone with instructions to save and install it so that sensitive information need not be sent via WhatsApp, allowing direct access to the device,” according to a Gujarat ATS statement.

During further investigation, Rashmani Ravindrapal’s name surfaced, the Gujarat ATS officials told media persons on Thursday.

“Initial questioning revealed that she worked as an intermediary for handlers identified as ‘Abdul Sattar’ and ‘Khalid’, who offered her financial benefits to operate under the fake identity ‘Priya Thakur.’ She used this identity to establish contact with army personnel whose details were supplied to her and attempted to extract confidential information. She was periodically given lists of mobile numbers for this purpose. She was also instructed to collect information on certain units, war exercises and movements.

She remained in direct contact with a Pakistani number linked to Abdul Sattar and opened a bank account to receive and transfer money as directed,” according to the media release.

Evidence recovered from the mobile phones of both accused includes WhatsApp calls from international numbers, documents and financial transactions.

Verification of the handlers’ IP addresses showed that Ankita Sharma alias Radhika was operating from Multan and Sargodha in Pakistan, Abdul Sattar from Lahore in Pakistan, and Khalid from Pakistan through VPNs and Malaysian virtual numbers.

On December 3, ATS Police Station registered a first information report (FIR) under Sections 61 (conspiracy related offence) and Section 148 (offences against state) under BNS.