Navy Sailor Arrested for Allegedly Leaking Classified Data to Pakistani Operative

An Indian Navy sailor has been arrested for allegedly transmitting classified maritime intelligence to a Pakistani intelligence operative through a suspected social media honey-trap, officials said on Sunday.

The Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence (CI) cell arrested 31-year-old Pradeep Mukherjee on October 3 at INS Agrani, a naval leadership training facility in Coimbatore.

Mukherjee, a native of West Bengal, joined the Navy in 2014 and was posted with the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. At the time of his arrest, he was attending a management development course at INS Agrani and had been staying at the facility for about a week, according to officials.

Sources said a female Pakistani intelligence operative had reportedly contacted Mukherjee several months ago through social media. The online relationship was allegedly used to extract sensitive information concerning strategic naval assets, fleet movements and the operational framework of the Visakhapatnam naval base.

The Counter Intelligence cell, which specialises in detecting and countering cross-border espionage and terror-related threats, launched an investigation after identifying suspicious digital activity allegedly linked to the sailor.

Investigators subsequently placed Mukherjee under surveillance before making the arrest, officials said. The case is being investigated as a suspected espionage operation involving the transmission of sensitive defence-related information to a foreign intelligence operative.

The arrest comes amid continuing concerns over attempts by foreign intelligence agencies to target defence personnel through social media platforms and online relationships.