Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)A major virtual espionage racket has been busted under which 11 Navy personnel have been apprehended, along with two civilians who had all been honey-trapped by the intelligence operatives of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, reports Asian News International (ANI).
The Navy is presently scrutinising a large number of social media profiles belonging to serving personnels for having been in touch with suspicious identities online. The investigations in the case are being led by Andhra Pradesh Police which is receiving full cooperation and support from Naval Intelligence and Central Intelligence Agencies.
The Andhra Pradesh Police had earlier arrested seven Navy personnel for having been allegedly involved in espionage. The latest arrests come in addition to those. The newly arrested personnel belong to different naval bases including Karwar in Karnataka, Mumbai in Maharashtra and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that the Indian Navy has imposed a stringent ban on use of smartphones and social media applications like Facebook by its personnel after the misuse of such applications by the serving personnel for acts of espionage came to fore.
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.