Indian naval personnel passed secrets after being honey trapped

NEW DELHI: Indian Navy sources said that 13 personnel have so far have been apprehended in the case and the probe has been widened to other suspected social media profiles of personnel.

A probe that waslaunched into an espionage case in the Indian Navy has widened as 13 Indian Navy personnel have been apprehended so far in the case. The Indian Navy personnel were caught leaking sensitive information on social media to enemy spies, reported foreign media on Sunday.

"Thirteen personnel have so far have been apprehended in the case and the probe has been widened to other suspected social media profiles of personnel who could have been in touch with Pakistani intelligence operatives," India Navy sources said.

The case had started after a joint operation involving the Andhra Pradesh Police, Naval intelligence and central intelligence agencies arrested seven Navy personnel who have been allegedly involved in the espionage. The case is under investigation by the police authorities of Andhra Pradesh in which the Naval Intelligence is providing full cooperation.

The Navy personnel apprehended by the police are from the different naval bases including Mumbai, Karwar (Karnataka) and Visakhapatnam. After being honey-trapped, these men had leaked sensitive information related to the Indian Navy through their social media profiles.

After the misuse of social media by the naval personnel came to light, the Indian Navy imposed a strict ban on the use of smart phones and social media applications such as Facebook by its personnel. However, a similar ban has not been enforced by the Indian Army and India Air Force (IAF) even though they have also faced similar cases in the past few months.

Sources in the Navy said the sudden ban on using smartphones has created issues for the personnel in establishing contact with families and doing their other digital work for personnel use.

The India Navy has allowed the use of older mobile phones using 2G connectivity which experts feel, is of limited use and can possibly be intercepted. However, the Navy sources said the restrictions on use of smartphones and social media revealing personnel identity have existed for a long time and they are just being strictly implemented at this time.