NEW DELHI: An IAF officer was taken into custody on the basis ofsurveillance and the action was not taken in a hurry, Defence MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday
A Group Captain, posted at the IAF’s headquarters here, was taken intocustody by the force for alleged involvement in espionage and possibleattempt to access sensitive documents.
Sitharaman has already been briefed about the action against the officer,officials said.
There were enough reasons to detain him, the defence minister toldreporters when asked about the issue.
The investigators are probing whether the officer was a victim of honeytrap, sources said yesterday.
The officer was indulging in certain “unwanted activities” throughunauthorised electronic devices which is against existing orders, they said.
Apparently, he was in touch with a woman through social media whoseidentity has not yet been established.
A team of the IAF’s central security and investigation took the officerinto custody, and he is being interrogated, said the sources.
The “unwanted” activities by the officer were discovered during routinecounter intelligence surveillance, the sources said, adding he attempted toposses sensitive documents.
The IAF officially did not comment on the matter.
The identity of the officer has been kept secret as investigation into thecase is going on, the sources said.
The investigators are also examining whether the officer has passed on anysensitive information to anyone.