The investigation in the Indian Navy’s Honey Trap case started by Andhra Pradesh Police has now increased. 13 people including 11 Navy personnel have been arrested so far for allegedly sending sensitive information related to the Navy to the spies of enemy country with the help of social media. The Indian Navy had also banned the use of smartphones and social media.
If sources related to the Navy are to be believed, the scope of the investigation has been extended to the social media profiles of other suspected navy personnel, who are suspected to be in contact with people associated with Pakistani intelligence agencies. It is being told that the posting of the navy personnel who have been arrested so far were at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Karwar in Karnataka and Mumbai base in Maharashtra.
Significantly, the investigation into the case that shook the Indian Navy began with seven Navy personnel in a joint operation of Andhra Pradesh Police, Naval Intelligence and Central Intelligence Agencies. The seven Indian Navy personnel are reportedly involved in espionage. It is alleged that after being trapped in the Honey Trap, They leaked sensitive information related to the Indian Navy.
After the matter came to light in December, the Navy imposed a strict ban on use of smartphones and social sites like Facebook for its personnel. Naval sources said that due to the sudden ban on the use of smart phones, it has become difficult for the navy personnel to contact their relatives and perform other digital tasks.
In view of these problems, the Navy has now allowed the use of old technology mobile phones with 2G connectivity. Experts feel that this phone is of limited use and can also be intercepted.
However, sources in the Navy said that restrictions have been in place for a long time on use of smartphones and social media. These restrictions are just being implemented strictly. After the Honey Trap case came to light, the Ministry of Home Affairs submitted its investigation to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The Intelligence Department of Andhra Pradesh Police had launched ‘Operation Dolphin’ across the country with the help of central intelligence agencies . This racket has been exposed under this operation. The strings of this racket are connected to Pakistan.
