NEW DELHI – Indian intelligence is investigating a suspected ring withinIndian Air Force officers linked with Pakistan intelligence after thearrest of the Indian Air Force senior officer.
A group captain of the Indian Air Force – equivalent to a Colonel of theIndian Army – posted in New Delhi has been detained and is now beingquestioned for possible spying for Pakistan.
The officer was first detected by Intelligence Unit of the IAF, topgovernment sources have said.
The officer is suspected to have passed “critical information,” over thelast few months before being detected, sources said.
Sources said that initial investigations suggest that officer was honeytrapped and was being blackmailed. The identity of woman who lured theofficer isn’t clear yet.
The Indian Air Force refused to comment officially. However, replying to anIndia Today query government sources said “during routine counterintelligence surveillance carried out by the IAF’s Central Security andInvestigation Team it was discovered that an officer was indulging incertain unwanted activities through unauthorised electronic devices whichis against existing orders. He has been taken into custody for furtherquestioning.”
Sources also said the officer established contact with his handlers throughFacebook. Later the officer was in touch with his handlers through multiplesocial media platforms. “We are trying to establish whether others too wereinvolved and how big the ring was”, a top sources told India Today.
“We have strong reason to believe that the officer was regularly meetinghis handlers in the Capital”, sources said.
The armed forces has a strict policy on using social media applications.The officers can have a social media presence but are barred from postingtheir pictures in uniform, revealing their place of posting, or revealingany official material such as information of visits or any plans ofoperations or infrastructure building.
Also, every document is graded for security ranging from confidential,secret, classified and top-secret.
The group captain has been detained for now and will be questioned forpossible spying for Pakistan.