Live
- Now, tackle pest menace in hostels with LED lights
- Hyderabad: Students protest over appointing Physics prof as EdCET convener
- Young doctors urged to work for healthy community
- Bhavani Deeksha Viramana continues
- Sridhar Babu hardsells key sectors to Malayasia
- Health Min Damodar Raja Narsimha holds meet to improve infra in govt hosps
- Inter exam fee last date extended
- Outrage as stray dogs poisoned in Sullurpeta
- Hyderabad soaks in vibrant Yuletide spirit
- Heavy rains forecast at isolated places in AP
Army issues advisory to its personnel : Don't get honey trapped
In the wake of some 'honey trap' incidents, the Indian Army has issued an advisory, asking its personnel to be cautious and avoid being friendly with strangers posing as spiritual leaders or women of foreign origin.
New Delhi : In the wake of some 'honey trap' incidents, the Indian Army has issued an advisory, asking its personnel to be cautious and avoid being friendly with strangers posing as spiritual leaders or women of foreign origin.
The Army has also identified around 150 profiles used by Pakistan to honey trap Indian Army personnel.
The advisory, issued in mid-October, says that Pakistani intelligence agencies are targeting Indian security personnel, especially Indian Army personnel, who are deployed in sensitive areas.
The Army has asked everyone not to divulge sensitive information on social media and be cautious about honey trap attempts.
"Pakistan-based operatives, through social media, gather contact numbers of senior army officials, and deployment patterns," said a senior Indian Army officer.
Many Pakistan-based social media operatives take disguise as a Person of Indian Origin and identify themselves with pseudo names like Vikram calling from army headquarters or as insurances officers and take details.
"Babas and spiritual ideas are a new way to trap jawans," the officer said.
Meanwhile, one of the two Indian soldiers who was taken into custody from the Jodhpur railway station on charges of sharing crucial information with a Pakistan-based woman ISI agent, has been arrested while the other was freed but would be used as a witness, police sources said.
The arrested soldier has been identified as Vichitra Behra, who hails from Odisha. He was arrested under Section 3 (spying) of the Official Secrets Act.
According to the sources, the second soldier was freed as concrete evidence could not be collected against him.
Additional Director General of Police, Intelligence, Umesh Mishra said: "The soldier gave confidential information to the Pakistan woman agent via social media. He also accepted money from the other side after giving out the information.
"In fact, he came in touch of the woman through social media and analysing the questions she sent, it is evident that she was a member of the Pakistani intelligence."
Behra sent the details as videoclips via WhatsApp, according to the police sources.
The Army has also cautioned its officials against 150 fake social media profiles that are being used by adversaries for honey trapping in order to extract sensitive information, sources said on Thursday.
They said that an advisory was sent to Army personnel last month to make them aware of the "trap". An official said people using fake social media profiles have been trying to engage with the Army personnel for extracting information by pretending to be fellow Army officers, police personnel or even posing as women.
"The profiles are generally 2-3 years old. So, they do not raise suspicion and appear to be authentic. It is then that they started targeting," the official added.
