The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of Punjab said Thursday it had arrested a Moga resident in a joint operation conducted with Military Intelligence for allegedly working as a spy for Pakistani intelligence agencies. The accused, Ravi Kumar, resident of village Dhalleke in Moga district, is a salesman in a soft-drink factory near his village. He was arrested under the Official Secrets Act and charges of criminal conspiracy. SSOC officer, Inspector Gurinder Pal Singh Nagra, said, “Preliminary questioning of the accused revealed he was recruited by an official of Pakistan’s ISI through Facebook about seven months back and was providing them information about movements of Army units, construction of new bunkers on the Indian side of border, photographs of Army vehicles along with their formation signs, information about Army exercises and training and about any new activity/construction in above said sectors.” Punjab Police sources said they had recovered two smartphones from Ravi’s possession and a Dubai SIM card, which contained information to show he was on the friend list of a Facebook account operated by the ISI in the name of a young woman, who had identified herself as a woman from New Delhi living in Dubai. In the same FB account, police sources said, “At least 17 serving Armymen, 15 retired Army officers, five Army clerks, seven military police officials and 15 paramilitary forces personnel of various ranks also figured on the friend list.” While refusing details, Army sources said there were “several FB accounts under investigation on suspicions of being honeytraps”. In a release issued Thursday, SSOC said, “Ravi’s ISI handlers had sponsored his visit to Dubai from February 20 to February 24 where he was briefed regarding tasks”. On February 20, Ravi allegedly uploaded his pictures on his FB account from Amritsar airport, on February 22 from Dubai and on February 23, his pictures showed him sitting in a dance bar in Dubai. “In same Facebook page, now under our scanner, there are Havildars, Colonels and various other senior rank Army officers (both serving and retired) who figure in the friend list. This is nothing but a trap. How can a retired or serving Army officer become a friend on Facebook with someone posing as young woman who he otherwise does not know,” a senior Punjab police officer told The Indian Express. The officer said police were probing another fake account operated by ISI in the name of another young woman. Punjab Police investigations have revealed that through two Facebook profiles, ISI was “visibly in touch with at least 290 people, out of these many serving or retired defence personnel”. An internal report of the Punjab Police said, “A major effort is required at national level to ascertain how many of these serving and retired personnel have been successfully honey-trapped by this young ISI woman.” “It seems Indian officials are easily falling prey to such luring by inimical agencies over social media despite numerous advisories and guidelines. Security establishments are required to take such things seriously and come up with suitable checks and balances to curb such an increasing trend,” said the report prepared after the arrest of Ravi. An SSOC officer said they were probing the veracity of the accounts, which were in the names of serving and retired defence personnel of different ranks, including very senior ranks.
