A Jammu and Kashmir youth, who fell into “a honey trap” and allegedly shared secret information pertaining to security and Army to his Pakistani handler, has been arrested, and a spy module “smashed”, police said on Friday.
Jammu zone inspector general of police (IGP) SDS Jamwal told HT that the youth was identified as Ravinder Kumar, a college dropout from Akhnoor area of Jammu district which shares the international border and line of control (LoC) with Pakistan.
Although the investigations were at a preliminary stage, he claimed “a spy module has been smashed”.
Jamval said the Pakistani handler, probably an ISI agent, had used an Indian girl’s name, Simran, to create a social media account and chat with Ravinder.
The police, keeping a close surveillance on cyber space, noticed that the chatting between the two was not “healthy”.
Another officer associated with the probe said Simran had sought information and pictures about deployment of security forces and army on the pretext that “she would get him recruited in the army in Akhnoor area itself”.
“The Pakistani handler had promised to deposit Rs 5,000 in the account of the Akhnoor youth, which never happened,” Jamval said, adding that the youth had shared information about deployment of army units but it was not very sensitive in nature.
{{/usCountry}}“The Pakistani handler had promised to deposit Rs 5,000 in the account of the Akhnoor youth, which never happened,” Jamval said, adding that the youth had shared information about deployment of army units but it was not very sensitive in nature.
{{/usCountry}}He also said that three-four other suspects were detained in this connection but were let off after questioning.
A case of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country under relevant sections of penal code and information technology act under sections 120-B/121/12-A Ranbir Penal Code, 66-F IT Act has been registered against the accused at Akhnoor police station and the police have seized cell phone of the accused. More arrests are likely in the case.
Advisory Issued
Meanwhile, in an advisory, the IGP warned the public of people operating fake accounts on WhatsApp and Facebook accounts to extract information pertaining to security forces.
He said they adopt different means like creating fake Facebook accounts of girls, befriending innocent youths and asking for details like OTP, or creating fake accounts of security personnel and offering jobs in return for vital information related.
“We advise people to be very watchful and alert while chatting on social sites,” he said.