A man has been arrested in the Bharuch district of Gujarat for allegedly spying for the Pakistani intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), police said on Thursday (May 9). The accused has been identified as Pravin Mishra, who, according to police, was honey-trapped by an ISI handler. Police said that Mishra divulged vital information related to drones manufactured by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Gujarat CID ADGP Rajkumar Pandian said, "CSL CID Crime mounted surveillance in a factory in Ankaleshwar near Bharuch, during which, we found a person called Pravin Mishra. His phone was checked, and based on the information we recovered from his phone, we filed a case against him under section 123 of the IPC, IT Act, and conspiracy offence. The main accused, an ISI handler from Pakistan, identified herself as Sonal Garg. She told him that she was working at IBM Chandigarh. She honey-trapped one Pravin Mishra. She got Pravin Sharma to extract India's defence-related information."
Pravin Mishra, the accused, had allegedly collected highly confidential information about the Indian Armed Forces and defence-related R&D firms, said the Gujarat Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The CID started its probe following a tip-off from the Military Intelligence, Udhampur.
A resident of Ankleshwar in Bharuch district and native of Muzaffarpur in Bihar, Mishra was in contact with a Pakistani intelligence operative through WhatsApp calls and audio chat to carry out a criminal conspiracy against the country that could have serious security consequences, the CID said.
"It was found that the information was being sent to an intelligence agency located in Pakistan," the CID said. A case was registered against Mishra and the Pakistani operative who used an Indian WhatsApp number and the fake Facebook ID of `Sonal Garg', it said.
ISI targeted people working for defence
The official further stated that many other people working for defence establishments have been targeted by ISI. "The honey-trappers target those working in or closely associated with defence establishments in the country. Pravin Mishra worked in Hyderabad in an organisation that, in turn, worked with DRDO. Pravin Mishra shared some vital information. Apart from him, many other people working for defence establishments were also targeted. Pravin Mishra has been arrested. He has shared information on drones manufactured by the DRDO. The ISI handler even tried to install malware on Pravin Mishra's office server," he said.
"The case has also been registered against the officers and employees involved in the criminal conspiracy who were in touch with the operative on the WhatsApp number," the release added.
The Military Intelligence had alerted the CID about the present or retired employees of the Armed Forces, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and employees associated with the R&D of missile system development being used to get confidential information, the CID said.
(With agencies inputs)
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