Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrests a Border Security Force (BSF) constable ‘honey trapped’ by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Achyutanand Mishra has been arrested on the charges of spying for Pakistan. He was trapped on Facebook and operating from Noida for a woman posing as a defence reporter on the social media.
According to the Director General of Police OP Singh, the woman posed as defence reporter used to ask Mishra to provide classified information about police academy, unit operational details, and training centre.
“ATS, as well as BSF officials, had been questioning Mishra for two days in Noida and prima facie, there is enough proof to show that the BSF constable has committed the crime under the Official Secrets Act,” said OP Singh.
Mishra belongs to Rewa in Madhya Pradesh was posted at the composit hospital of BSF in Delhi. He became friends with a woman who was using a fake account on Facebook under the identity of a defence reporter working since 2016. Mishra also has her mobile number saved in his phone with the name ‘Pakistani dost’.
“The jawan shared the unit’s location, details of armoury, photographs and videos of BSF premises and information about the training academy in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh, with her. We have extracted details from his Facebook profile and mobile phone, which proves that he had been sharing information since January 2016,” Singh said.
“Mishra sent his photos to the woman in full uniform which itself is not allowed. The Facebook profile accessed by Mishra had around 2,000 followers. Formal proceedings will be launched against him in due course,” said a senior BSF official in Delhi.
Mishra will be produced before a court in Lucknow. There were inputs in the recent past about ISI “honey-trapping” jawans of the Army and para-military forces using Facebook. The UP ATS was tipped off as regards a fake social media profile by the Military Intelligence of Chandigarh some time ago.
