In July 2021, as rains lashed Secunderabad, Telangana, a bored Main Ok opened his Fb. The infantry officer serving his peace posting on the metropolis’s navy station was greeted by a message from Prisha Agrawal. He didn’t know her however was intrigued and promptly bought chatting. Prisha mentioned she was a catastrophe administration official in Madhya Pradesh and was seeking to assist retired armymen discover scholarships for his or her kids and grandchildren. May the most important help her on this endeavour, she requested? By the following month, the most important and Prisha have been mates, chatting and video calling over WhatsApp. And never lengthy after they have been sexting as properly.
It wasn’t till a couple of yr later that the most important came upon Prisha was not who she mentioned she was. She was a suspected Pakistani spy out to retrieve confidential info from him.
She had too, the most important would be taught when he was referred to as in for questioning by navy investigators who had discovered the spy.
Main Ok had fallen prey to a digital honey entice.
It’s a widespread, and outdated, observe on the planet of spycraft, however sources within the military instructed Newslaundry that armymen, sailors and airmen are falling prey to honey traps at an alarming fee. Within the final two years alone, they’ve recognized almost 200 such circumstances.
Main Ok was manipulated into giving up the situation of navy items in Secunderabad, together with his personal, the character of his work, and delicate navy protocols. He had been launched to Prisha’s “mates” as properly, and so they all extracted their very own kilos of flesh, because it have been.
“These operatives had been employed by the Pakistani navy intelligence to focus on Indian navy and paramilitary officers. They might lure our officers and extract essential info associated to defence forces,” mentioned a military official who requested to not be recognized given the “delicate nature” of the investigation.
He added, “It’s not that circumstances of sexpionage haven’t occurred prior to now, however since 2021, we now have noticed a really aggressive effort on this space. Apart from focusing on younger officers and troopers, they’re additionally eyeing senior navy officers and their employees.”
In January 2022, a Corps of Engineers soldier was arrested for sharing delicate details about the regiment’s coaching with a suspected Pakistani spy, who had befriended him on Fb. She was Reet Kaur, the spy had instructed the soldier, and labored as a clerk within the workplace of the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts in Jodhpur. She would chat with the soldier in his native Punjabi and “change in sexual exercise on video”, the military official mentioned.
“That soldier was trapped thrice. First by Reet Kaur, then by girls who referred to as themselves Khushdeep Kaur and Harleen Gill,” the official added. “This isn’t solely about sharing navy info. Chaps who’re compromised utilizing honey traps could be motivated or blackmailed to do sabotage or subversion. It’s extraordinarily harmful.”
Explaining the modus operandi of the operatives, one other military official mentioned, “The ladies concerned in sexpionage collect details about the armed forces personnel from social media. The usage of social media is banned within the military however the troopers run accounts utilizing aliases which exposes them to the chance. As soon as the operative has confirmed the goal, she begins a dialog by posing to be an official from the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts, the Army Nursing Service, or as an NGO employee or journalist. When posing as PCDA clerks, they normally provoke contact saying that they should kind out pending funds. For the reason that Covid pandemic, there have been circumstances the place the operatives posed as MNS employees and, below the guise of offering Covid vaccination, tried to extract contact particulars from items within the Northern Command. In Kashmir, that they had posed as BSNL officers to method the armed forces personnel. After they’ve the troopers chatting, they lure them into on-line sexual exercise – and that nearly invariably results in extraction of navy info.” Not not often, in addition they hack the cellphones of their targets.
To keep away from suspicion, the official mentioned, the operatives use Indian navy terminology, submit pictures in Indian navy uniform, or put the Indian flag or pro-India feedback on their social media pages. They’ve been discovered to have infiltrated social media teams posing as navy folks, journalists, even Intelligence Bureau officers. And there have been circumstances of them utilizing relationship apps.
In April 2021, a military clerk was arrested in Bhopal after a four-month surveillance operation. He was honey-trapped by a suspected Pakistani spy who posed as Shruti Parry, a defence journalist from Amritsar based mostly in England, and contacted him on Fb. They traded messages, and shortly moved to intercourse chats and video calls. The clerk as soon as even obtained Rs 50,000 from the girl. A subsequent investigation discovered the clerk had shared categorised details about troop actions, regiment areas, coaching procedures, and footage with the operative. He was so deep in it that he even collected info from his comrades and handed it on.
“Sexpionage circumstances are lose-lose for the armed forces,” mentioned a military official engaged on such circumstances. “If the focused soldier isn’t discovered, he’ll hurt the forces by sharing delicate info. If he’s caught, he’s anyway ineffective to the navy. Some troopers uncovered in sexpionage circumstances have dedicated suicide. I personally know of 1 compromised soldier who shot himself useless after he was busted.”
The sexpionage circumstances that find yourself being reported within the media, the officer mentioned, are “simply the tip of the iceberg”.
Retired Lt Gen DB Basic Shekatkar, who has studied twenty first century psychological warfare for years, mentioned honey traps have “unfold like a pandemic” with the arrival of social media. “It has change into a significant issue for our defence forces, and the one approach to counter it’s to create as a lot consciousness as attainable,” mentioned Shekatkar, at present serving because the chancellor of Sikkim College.
Sanjeev Kanal, a former commandant of the Officers Coaching Academy, agreed. “Although honey traps are an age-old observe, they’ve change into extra rampant with social media and digital expertise,” mentioned Kanal, who retired as a lieutenant basic. “It’s a problem which should be taken significantly.”
