Honey trapped, govt employee still to come to terms that woman he loved was Pakistani agent

Jailed Ravi Prakash Meena, a class-4 employee at the Sena Bhawan in Delhi, is not able to believe that the woman he loved was a Pakistani agent. Honey trapped, the 31-year-old is accused of sharing sensitive and strategic information about the army.

He was "madly in love" with the agent who befriended him on Facebook, said an intelligence officer familiar with the investigation into Meena's case.

From Sapotara in Rajasthan's Karauli district, Meena was apprehended in October first week, making him the 35th person arrested by the state police since 2017 for allegedly sharing sensitive information after being honey trapped by Pakistani agents, including those from the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

In Meena's case, the officer said, "The Pakistani agent, who went by the name Anjali Tiwari, posed as an Indian Army officer posted in West Bengal. Even after his arrest, and looking at the evidence, Kumar could not believe that the woman was a Pakistani agent."

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On October 8, following his arrest, Director General of Police (Intelligence), Rajasthan, Umesh Mishra, had said that Meena was sharing confidential and strategic information about the army with her.

He was providing information to the agent through social media in exchange for money which was deposited in his bank account, Mishra had said, adding that he has been charged under the Official Secrets Act.

Of the 35 people, including civilians and security personnel, six were arrested in 2017, as many in 2019, five in 2020, eight in 2021 and 10 so far this year, according to Rajasthan Police data.

"In earlier, cases people provided confidential and strategic information in exchange for money. But, now, it is being seen that people are being honey trapped, emotionally blacked-mailed and then asked for information in exchange for money," DGP (Intelligence) Mishra told PTI.

He said that among those arrested are civilians and security personnel.

In total, 26 cases have been registered since 2017 against the 35 arrested people, who include 10 security personnel and 25 civilians, according to police data.

The trend of first honey trapping and then getting information against financial exchanges, seems to have become a preferred modus operandi of Pakistani agents since 2019, the intelligence officer, who did not wish to be named, said.

Earlier this year, 24-year-old Pradeep Kumar, a native of Uttarakhand posted with an army unit in Jodhpur, was honey trapped by a woman Pakistani agent who went by the name Riya.

Kumar was arrested in May and the agent had told him that she was a lieutenant colonel posted at the military hospital in Bengaluru, another intelligence officer attached with this case said.

"He wanted to marry Riya. She through video calls had even introduced Kumar to her family, and he made her talk to his sister," the officer said.

"The agent told Kumar about her daily routine at work and fights and heated discussions with colleagues. Sympathising with her, he started helping her in preparing drafts and documents. Later, Kumar started sending her photos of documents, exercise regimes and also of army units," the officer said.

Even after four days of his arrest and being briefed about the crime, Kumar could not believe that the woman he loved could do this to him, the intelligence officer said requesting anonymity.

In Kumar's case, the agent also interacted with 10 of his friends from the army unit he was posted with, but she did not get any information, the officer said

Officials said that across cases, the modus operandi is similar. The agents either give missed calls and then enter into conversation following a call back or get in touch through social media, they said.

Thereafter, in the process of honey trapping, they engage through video and voice chats, get emotionally close, share nude clips and pictures to seduce victims and then trick or blackmail them into sharing confidential information and documents through social media, the officials said.

The agents randomly send out messages or call, and once a connection is made, they use people for various works, not necessarily to get information. These works can range from getting mobile SIM cards or getting OTPs to activate Whatsapp on Indian mobile phone numbers, they said.

In July, Rajasthan natives -- Narayan Lal Gadri, 27, of Bhilwara and Kuldeep Singh Shekhawat, 24, of Jaipur -- were arrested.

Narayan was arrested for allegedly providing SIM cards of Indian telecom companies to be used by Pakistani handlers to run social media accounts, the officer said.

He had sent SIMs to Mount Abu, from where it was further sent to Delhi, Mumbai and Dubai. For every SIM, he was given Rs 3,000-5,000, the officer said.