ISI created fake account of woman to trick HAL employee to sharing Sukhoi details: ATS

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) reportedly created a fake social media account of a woman to trick an employee of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) into sharing pictures and vital information on Sukhoi jets, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squ (ATS) said on Sunday. 

Deepak Shirsat, an assistant supervisor at HAL, was arrested by ATS in October on charges of espionage. Officials stated that Shirsat started sharing information from January 2019.   41-year-old assistant supervisor has been working with HAL for last 16 years, ATS sources said. 

An ISI operative created a fake social media account of a woman from UK with an interest in aeronautics, who n lured Shirsat into sharing pictures of his notes and HAL’s manufacturing unit at Ozar. In order to sound genuine, ISI operative would chat with him on a number with phone code +44, ATS ded.

During ir conversation, woman allegedly told Shirsat she always wanted to do something in aeronautics but could not. She n asked him to send critical information and pictures which were shared on WhatsApp and or social media apps, it said furr. accused h reportedly been in touch with woman since December 2018.

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ATS traces contact number, nabs accused

After ATS learnt that a HAL employee was supplying secret information about Indian fighter aircraft and its Nashik manufacturing unit to a foreigner, y began tracing location of number, which was diverted to Pakistan. Its sources n confirmed that number belonged to ISI. 

ATS n laid a trap and nabbed accused from Ozar, seizing three mobile handsets, five sim cards and two memory cards that were sent to Forensic Science Laboratory. An officer said a technical analysis will reveal what information he provided to ISI and wher he was lured from or accounts as well.

An investigator said it was initially believed that Shirsat was blackmailed into sharing information but during investigation, it was revealed that accused was willingly sharing critical details to impress woman. He has been booked under sections 3 (spying), 4 (communications with foreign agents to be evidence of commission of certain offences) and 5 (wrongful communication, etc., of information) of Official Secrets Act 1923.

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(Image for representation, credits: Pixabay)