Honeytrap On Facebook: How This Engineer Leaked Naval Secrets To ‘Mystery Woman’ From Pakistan

New Delhi: A 27-year-old engineer from Maharashtra has been arrested for allegedly leaking army secrets and techniques to a Pakistani intelligence agent who, investigators say, seduced him on-line the usage of a pretend id.

The accused, Ravindra Murlidhar Verma, labored as a junior engineer at a defence tech company. He used to be a cubicle-bound coder who had get admission to to India’s Naval Dockyard in Mumbai and boarding warships and submarines. And this is purportedly made him a major goal.

Verma’s downfall started in overdue 2024 when he permitted pal requests from Facebook accounts with Indian-sounding names like ‘Payal Sharma’ and ‘Ispreet’. Behind the ones profiles used to be a Pakistani secret agent pretending to be a girl.

Chats became flirtation, flirtation into believe and sooner than he knew it, Verma – in line with investigators – used to be feeding categorised knowledge instantly to Pakistan.

Sketches, Diagrams and Audio Notes

Verma allegedly were given ingenious with out cell get admission to throughout the Naval base. After his shifts, he reportedly drew detailed sketches of warships and submarines, recorded audio notes and shared them over WhatsApp.

The Pakistani handler didn’t simplest get gossip, government say, he/she were given strategic intelligence. Verma, in go back, allegedly won cash thru each Indian and international financial institution accounts.

Officials imagine this used to be now not a one-time slip. Over months, the techie is suspected of intentionally and again and again leaking nationwide secrets and techniques – all whilst absolutely acutely aware of the results.

The Anti-Terrorists Squad (ATS) has additionally discovered that Verma used to be now not appearing by myself. Two others at the moment are being probed for imaginable connections.

What Happens Next?

Booked beneath the Official Secrets Act and conspiracy fees, Verma has been remanded in custody. Investigators at the moment are scanning his telephones and virtual path to discover simply how a lot used to be shared and who else could be concerned.

This case provides to a rising string of espionage incidents involving Pakistan’s honeytrap ways, the place faux on-line profiles are used to take advantage of pros with get admission to to vital knowledge.