Mumbai Naval Dockyard worker held for sharing crucial info with Pak intel

An officer said, “We received confidential information that an Indian suspect was in contact with PIO and had provided confidential and sensitive information about areas restricted by the Government of India.”

The ATS officials detained him from his residence in Navi Mumbai and during interrogation, it was revealed that he was honey-trapped by three unknown profiles — Mukta Mahato, Payal Angel and Aarti Sharma.

“The users of these Facebook accounts are based in Pakistan. They initially approached Patil on Facebook and later they started chatting on Whatsapp,” said an officer who added that he also shared important details about ships and other restricted areas.

The ATS officials added that the PIO also sent money to Patil for the information he shared with them. “The incident took place between April/May and October 2023,” an officer said.

A case was registered by the ATS against Patil and three unknown persons who were chatting with him on social media, after which he was arrested. “He was produced in court and remanded in police custody for a week,” a senior ATS official said.

About the money Patil received, the officer said, “It appears that he has not received a huge amount but we are trying to ascertain the exact figure.”