ISI spying: Arrested Air Force personnel sent to 4-day police remand

New Delhi: A dismissed Air Force official, who allegedly shared secret information with intelligence operatives suspected to be backed by Pakistan's ISI after being "honeytrapped" into an espionage racket, has been arrested from Bhatinda in Punjab by Delhi Police. 

He was later sent to four-day police remand by a Delhi court on Monday afternoon.

The accused, identified as Ranjith KK, was a Leading aircraft man with the Indian Air Force posted at Bhatinda. He was dismissed recently and later arrested after a combined operation by Delhi Police's Crime Branch, Military Intelligence and Air Force Liaisoning Unit (LU), Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Yadav said today.

Ranjith, a native of Malappuram district in Kerala, had joined the Indian Air Force in 2010. He has been booked under provisions of the Official Secrets Act, said police.

"With his arrest, the police have come across a honeytrapping module, backed by intelligence agents from across the border, which creates fictitious accounts (cyber entities) in popular social networking sites, pretending to be women, befriend defence personnel and officials from security forces and allegedly lure them into espionage," a senior police official said.

In the concerned case, Ranjith was deceived by a cyber entity by the name Damini McNaught, who pretended to be the executive of a UK-based media firm and claimed that she required Air Force-related information for an article in their news magazine from Ranjith in exchange for pecuniary benefits, said the official.

Ranjith allegedly shared Air Force-related information, mostly pertaining to a recent exercise, movements of aircraft and deployment of various units, in exchange for money transferred to his bank account, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Alok Kumar said.