Uttar Pradesh STF arrests BSF man who was allegedly ‘honey-trapped’ by ISI

According to DGP O P Singh, Military Intelligence at Chandigarh had tipped them off about a fake Facebook account. As there were inputs about ISI agents honey-trapping security personnel using fake Facebook IDs, ATS had initiated surveillance, said Singh.

The ATS lodged a case after discovering that around 90 people in India were communicating with the same Facebook account. During the probe, they found out about Mishra, said police.

IG (ATS), Asim Arun said Mishra, who joined the BSF in 2006, came in contact with the “woman” in 2016. The conversation soon moved to WhatsApp and Mishra had saved the Pakistan-origin number as ‘Pakistani dost’, said Arun. He said chat logs showed that Mishra was being influenced on issues pertaining to religious conversion and Kashmir.

Mishra, posted with the BSF’s 120th battalion at Tripura, was recently sent as an attendant with a colleague who required treatment for a leg injury at a Delhi hospital. He was picked up for interrogation on September 17 and arrested from Noida Tuesday, said Deputy SP (ATS) Manish Sonkar.

ATS and BSF officials have checked Mishra’s phone and Facebook account. “We found vital information about locations of BSF units, details of ammunition and pictures of BSF camp which were shared by Mishra,” said Arun. “There is enough evidence to prove that he committed an offence under Official Secrets Act. He has also confessed,” said DGP Singh.

Mishra has been booked under Official Secrets Act, IT Act and for waging or attempting to wage war against the Government of India, said an ATS official. The official said that during the five-day remand, they would try to get information about Mishra’s network and find out what other information he passed on. They would also question Mishra on whether he got money for such information and verify his bank accounts, the official added.