Former Armyman, woman held in Gujarat for ‘spying for Pakistan’

An investigation was launched and the ATS – with the support of Mehsana SOG, Surat SOG, Dahod SOG, Kheda SOG, UP Police, Daman Crime Branch, Goa Police, and central agencies – found that Pakistan Intelligence Officers (PIOs), under the alleged fake identity of “Ankita Sharma” allegedly contacted Ajaykumar, a retired Army Subedar from Goa, during his posting in Dimapur, Nagaland, in 2022.

The PIOs subsequently allegedly sought information from Ajaykumar regarding army units, postings of officers & personnel, and their movements, for which he had allegedly shared details about officer transfers and stationing as well as movements of different units.

The PIOs also allegedly sent a Trojan malware file to Ajaykumar’s mobile phone, instructing him to save and install it so that sensitive information would not need to be shared via WhatsApp, allowing them direct access to his device.

During further investigation in this case, the name of Rashmani Ravindra Pal, residing in the union territory of Daman, came to light. During her initial questioning by the ATS, it was revealed that she was allegedly working as a conduit for Pakistani handlers.

PIOs “Abdul Sattar” and “Khalid” allegedly offered her financial benefits in exchange for creating a fake identity under the name “Priya Thakur” and using this identity to cultivate friendships with Indian Army personnel whose details were shared by Sattar and Khalid, and thereby to extract confidential military information from them.

For this purpose, she was periodically provided with alleged lists of multiple mobile numbers by “Khalid” and “Abdul Sattar”, and she would allegedly “trap” individuals to obtain sensitive Army-related information.

Furthermore, the handlers allegedly instructed Rashmani to specifically collect information regarding certain army units, their war exercises, and movements. The accused was in direct contact with Abdul Sattar on his Pakistani number (+92). She is also accused of opening a new account with Airtel Payments Bank to receive and transfer money under instructions of Abdul Sattar and Khalid.

The evidence associated with this espionage network, including WhatsApp calls from international numbers, documents, and financial transactions, were recovered from the mobile phones of the accused persons, said an ATS statement on Thursday.

Further verification of the PIOs’ IP addresses allegedly revealed that “Ankita Sharma alias Radhika” was operating from Multan and Sargodha in Pakistan, “Abdul Sattar” was operating from Lahore, and “Khalid” was operating from Pakistan using a VPN and virtual Malaysian phone numbers.

The Gujarat ATS on December 3 registered an FIR against the arrested accused, Rashmani Ravindra Pal and Ajaykumar Surendrasingh, under Sections 61 and 148 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and initiated legal proceedings. Further investigation is underway against other individuals involved in the alleged conspiracy.