The Gujarat police arrested an employee of private firm for allegedly sharing confidential information about drones and missiles manufactured by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with a handler of Pakistan’s intelligence agency named Inter-Service-Intelligence (ISI).
The ISI handlers lured accused Pravin Mishra through a Facebook Profile of Sonal Garg who claimed to be working for the IT Major IBM in Chandigarh. The conversation then shifted to WhatsApp where Mishra sent confidential information, the Crime Investigation Department (CID) said. Mishra has been nabbed on May 9, 2024, from the Ankaleshwar Industrial Area in Bharuch and has been sent for 14 days in police custody.
The honey trap began almost a year ago, soon after Mishra left a job with a Hyderabad firm that supplied equipment and spare parts to defence establishments including the DRDO. He then joined a specialty chemical company in Bharuch which also supplied parts to the DRDO. The investigation was based on intelligence inputs about several serving and former officials being targeted through honey trapped modules, the Gujarat CID said in a statement.
A source in the CID revealed to an Indian media agency, that Mishra revealed specifics of missile technologies he gleaned during his stint in Hyderabad company. “It was one of the first companies that had worked for DRDO on missile technologies. Mishra had a diploma in aeronautical engineering, he had a fair understanding of the technologies and specific involved in missile technologies, which he passed through the ISI Handlers, the source said.
The honey trap began a year ago, but Mishra started sharing information on WhatsApp around four months ago, the source further said. He added that Mishra’s elder brother was in the Indian Army and was on the ISI radar for a long time even before the honey trap began.
Addressing a press conference on May 9, 2024, the Additional Director of the CID, Raj Kumar Pandian said the accused had passed on information about drones also. He said that ISI handlers also attempted to extract information on India’s indigenous BrahMos Missile, but Mishra had little knowledge of it as he had not worked with the DRDO on these technologies.
Pravin Mishra was targeted because he was working with a company that in turn supplied parts to the DRDO. The handler first honey-trapped him on Facebook and then switched over to WhatsApp by using Indian mobile number. Pravin Mishra was enticed and information was extracted from him,” Pandian told the press. He further said there were other individuals working with defence establishments who have also been targeted and their names would be revealed after the due course of time after investigations.
