Gujarat Man 'Honey-Trapped' By Pakistani Spy Posed As IBM Employee Leaks Military Secrets

AHMEDABAD: In a shocking incident, a man accused of spying for a Pakistani intelligence agency has been arrested in Bharuch district of Gujarat, police informed.

The accused has been identified as Pravin Mishra, a resident of Ankleshwar in Bharuch and serious allegations of collecting classified information about the Indian Armed Forces and defence research firms for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have been leveled against him.

The Gujarat Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has said that the man committed this treacherous act as he fell prey to a "honey trap" orchestrated by an ISI operative posing as a woman named Sonal Garg who claimed to work for IBM Chandigarh.

An Indian WhatsApp number and the fake Facebook ID of Sonal Garg was used by the Pakistani operative to target and trap Mishra.

CID ADGP Rajkumar Pandian revealed that the ISI agent, disguised as an IBM employee, honey-trapped one Pravin Mishra, who worked in Hyderabad in an organisation which in turn worked with DRDO.

The top cop added that the covert operative succeeded in extracting India's defence-related information from Pravin Mishra, who also shared some sensitive information.

Pandian further disclosed that the leaked information included details on drones manufactured by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). 

According to reports, the ISI operative also made a malicious attempt to install malware on Mishra's office server.

In a significant revelation, the cops said that the information was being sent to an intelligence agency located in Pakistan.

Military Intelligence in Udhampur gave a tip-off about this act of espionage and alerted authorities about attempts to target current or retired personnel of the Armed Forces, DRDO, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and those involved in missile system development. The investigation was launched based on this reliable intelligence.

Meanwhile, a case has been lodged against Mishra, the Pakistani operative using the fake identity "Sonal Garg," and any Indian officials who may have been involved in the conspiracy.

Further investigation is ongoing.

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