Indian Navy sailor Pradeep Mukherjee (31) was arrested by a team of the Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell on October 3 in Coimbatore. The sailor, a native of West Bengal, joined the Indian Navy in 2014 and was posted under the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.
Pradeep Mukherjee was in Coimbatore to attend a Management Development Course at INS Agrani, a premier naval leadership training centre at Red Fields. The Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence (AP-CI) Cell, which had put him on its radar following digital tracking and his suspicious activities, found him attending the training in Coimbatore, where it arrested him. He had been in Coimbatore for over a week attending the training session.
சமூக ஊடகங்கள் மூலம் பிரதீப்
முகர்ஜியை தொடர்பு கொண்ட ஒரு
பாகிஸ்தானிய பெண் உளவாளிகோவை INS அக்ரனியில் நடக்கும் மேலாண்மை மேம்பாட்டுப் பயிற்சியில் பங்கேற்க ஒருவாரமாக தங்கியிருந்தார்#Coimbatore #PakistaniSpy #INSAgrani #DefenseNews #NavyOfficer #News18TamilNadu | #TamilNews pic.twitter.com/h4kP3qs8Zb
— News18 Tamil Nadu (@News18TamilNadu) October 4, 2026
According to reports, a female alleged to be an ISI handler contacted Pradeep through social media a few months ago and established contact with him. After gaining his confidence, the Pakistan operative started asking him to share sensitive defence information. She began extracting information on strategic naval assets, fleet movements and the operational set-up linked to the Visakhapatnam naval base. The alleged operative, who is suspected of honey-trapping him, received the sensitive information from him.
The CI Cell — an elite wing focused on neutralising terror modules, cross-border espionage and high-security threats — placed Pradeep under surveillance and kept him on its radar after finding suspicious digital footprints. It was tracking his movements and activities closely.
பாகிஸ்தானுக்கு உளவு – இந்திய கடற்படை அதிகாரி கோவையில் கைது #Coimbatore #IndianNavy #SpyingCase #News18Tamilnadu | https://t.co/rRJCTTegh9 pic.twitter.com/RU210rAp7Y
— News18 Tamil Nadu (@News18TamilNadu) October 4, 2026
The CI Cell suspects that he could have shared sensitive information with his Pakistani intelligence operative and is in the process of assessing the volume of files and information compromised. Pradeep was found sharing or transmitting classified data and information, which the CI Cell confirmed. The probe is also on to find out the financial transactions routed to him through hawala or digital payment channels.
After the arrest, he was produced before a local magistrate to secure a transit warrant before being taken to the CI headquarters in Vijayawada. There, Pradeep is being interrogated for further details while he is in the custody of the CI Cell.
It is pertinent to note that Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh cautioned personnel about honey-trap attempts and the risks of sharing information through digital platforms. The warning came against the backdrop of a separate case involving an IAF officer accused of sharing defence-related information with a woman suspected of links to Pakistani intelligence.
In August, Hindu Munnani handed over a Jharkhand youth with a fake Military ID card. He was staying in the highly sensitive Wellington Defence Academy. A probe by the IB, military and other agencies found that he had spoken to some foreign countries, and a doctor’s uniform and stethoscope were found in his baggage.
A 32-year-old Bangladeshi national named Biplob Soren was arrested on September 18, 2026, after working illegally for nearly a year at the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kerala.
