'WhatsApp calls, honey-trap': Ex-Army man held in Tamil Nadu for sharing information with suspected Pakistani woman

A 52-year-old retired honorary Indian Army captain from Kannamangalam in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore has been arrested for allegedly sharing information on military activities with a suspected Pakistani woman he met on a social media platform and posed as a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) research assistant, police said on Monday.

Investigators said P Babu retired from the army in 2022 after 28 years of service and has since been teaching at the National Cadet Corps academy in Chennai. They added that Babu allegedly shared information about the purchase and stock of weapons.

The case is the latest in a series of online entrapments of defence personnel. Andhra Pradesh’s Counter Intelligence Cell this month questioned 13 Navy personnel and identified 18 suspects over the alleged sharing of maritime intelligence with Pakistani operatives.

A 44-year-old Indian Air Force Wing Commander was arrested in May for allegedly sharing sensitive defence information and classified documents.

An investigator called Babu’s case a “honey-trap” and said that he allegedly shared information with the woman through WhatsApp. At one stage, Babu asked her why she was asking such details about the Indian Army. She responded, claiming she was with DRDO, the defence ministry’s research and development wing. The woman would call Babu on WhatsApp on the pretext of a DRDO project and seek information on military activities.

Babu allegedly shared the information and also requested his former colleagues to do so at the woman’s request.

Police said they have seized Babu’s smartphones. They cited initial investigations and said it emerged that he purchased five mobile connections under his name over the last few months to communicate with the woman.

Babu, who was handed over to police after the intelligence agencies interrogated him, was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 152 (endangering India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity) and Section 3 (1)c and 5 (1) (a) of the Official Secrets Act, which relate to the collection, recording or publishing of secret codes or sensitive information prejudicial to India’s security.

Babu was produced before a court on Saturday and remanded to the central prison in Vellore.