Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 18: The Jammu and Kashmir Police have booked the wife of an Army officer for allegedly “collecting and sharing” sensitive information with foreign intelligence operatives, including individuals linked to China, who had contacted her under the garb of academicians, official sources said on Sunday.
According to the sources, she was pursuing certain research-related activities, which are being examined. The police are also examining the nature of her activities and whether any information or material was “communicated” to foreign intelligence operatives, they said.
The case was registered at Gandhi Nagar Police Station on Friday under the Official Secrets Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), they said. The accused, who hails from Telangana and currently resides in Jammu with her husband, was questioned by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)-rank officer as part of the investigation following the registration of the FIR, they said. She allegedly fell into the trap unknowingly, not realising that those she had been interacting with were not academicians but intelligence operatives from China.
The accused has not been arrested so far, and the preliminary inquiry has “not established” that any “sensitive information” was shared by her, the sources said. The sources said investigators are also looking into the circumstances that led to the registration of the FIR and the allegations concerning possible links with foreign entities. The investigation is ongoing and further details are awaited.
According to preliminary investigation by intelligence agencies, some Chinese operatives posing as academicians got in touch with the woman and made her write articles and write-ups on subjects having strategic and operational significance for publication. Initially, they made her write on environmental and issues related to geopolitics and slowly they made her switch over to issues related to defence. Investigators suspect that the lady unknowingly fell into ‘intellectual trap,’ not realising that those approaching her as academicians were actually operatives trying to extract sensitive information.
According to sources, the woman came under scanner following information from a reliable source, which alleged her involvement in clandestine collection, possession and transmission of sensitive documents, photographs and electronic data having a direct bearing on the security of the State. It is suspected that such information was allegedly being shared through encrypted communication channels with individuals associated with foreign intelligence agencies.
The police input specifically mentions China and other foreign countries, alleging that the suspected activity could have knowingly or unknowingly exposed information of strategic importance. However, as the matter is still under investigation, the precise nature of the documents allegedly collected, the identities of the suspected foreign contacts and the extent of any information transfer have not been disclosed.
Police have not publicly disclosed further details about the alleged communications, any material recovered, or whether any search have been carried out. Investigating sleuths are now trying to ascertain how she got in touch with foreign operatives.