The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a Thane-based man for providing sensitive information to a Pakistani intelligence agent, who honey-trapped him on social media, PTI reported on Thursday, citing officials.
The man has been identified as 27-year-old Ravindra Murlidhar Verma, a resident of Kalwa in neighbouring Thane city.
According to officials, Verma works as a junior engineer with a firm involved in defence technology.
“Verma was working as a junior engineer with a firm involved in defence technology. As an employee of the company, he had access to enter the Naval Dockyard in south Mumbai and he used to work at the naval ships,” an unidentified official was quoted as saying.
The official added that Verma was honey-trapped by a Pakistani agent who posed as a woman and befriended him on Facebook.
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He was found to have shared sensitive information about a vital installation with the ‘Pakistan Intelligence Operative’ (PIO) through WhatsApp from November 2024 to March 2025, the official added.
Verma was arrested by the Thane unit of the ATs based on a tip off. After interrogation, he was placed under arrest for his alleged involvement in the crime.
The 27-year-old has been charged under section 3 of the Official Secrets Act that deals with espionage, and section 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
According to PTI, he was produced before a court, which sent him to the ATS custody till Monday.
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The ATS is also examining his mobile phones and gadgets used in sharing vital information through the social media platform with the Pakistani agent.
Earlier, a 20-year-old college dropout was arrested in Kangra on suspicion of spying after sensitive and objectionable content was found on his mobile phone.
This was the first such arrest in Himachal Pradesh as part of a larger crackdown on espionage networks after Operation Sindoor, launched by India on May 7 in response to an April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 people. Since then, at least seven suspects have been arrested in Punjab and Haryana for alleged spying activities for Pakistan.