Srinagar:
The wife of a senior Army officer has been charged by Jammu and Kashmir police for allegedly passing sensitive information to operatives linked to foreign intelligence agencies, including China, who had contacted her under the garb of academicians.
The accused, wife of a senior Army officer and a resident of Telangana presently residing within the jurisdiction of Gandhi Nagar Police Station in Jammu, allegedly fell into the trap unknowingly, not realising that those she had been interacting with were not academicians but intelligence operatives from China.
An FIR has been registered at Gandhi Nagar Police Station as FIR No. 290/2026 under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, along with Sections 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, offences relating to the collection or communication of information prejudicial to national security are covered, while Section 5 deals with wrongful communication, retention and handling of protected information.
According to preliminary investigation by intelligence agencies, some Chinese operatives posing as academicians got in touch with the woman and made her write articles and write-ups on subjects having strategic and operational significance for publication. Initially, they made her write on environmental and issues related to geopolitics and slowly they made her switch over to issues related to defence.
Investigators suspect that the lady unknowingly fell into 'intellectual trap,' not realising that those approaching her as academicians were actually operatives trying to extract sensitive information.
According to sources, the woman came under scanner following information from a reliable source, which alleged her involvement in clandestine collection, possession and transmission of sensitive documents, photographs and electronic data having a direct bearing on the security of the State.
It is suspected that such information was allegedly being shared through encrypted communication channels with individuals associated with foreign intelligence agencies.
The police input specifically mentions China and other foreign countries, alleging that the suspected activity could have knowingly or unknowingly exposed information of strategic importance.
However, as the matter is still under investigation, the precise nature of the documents allegedly collected, the identities of the suspected foreign contacts and the extent of any information transfer have not been disclosed.
Police have not publicly disclosed further details about the alleged communications, any material recovered, or whether any search have been carried out. Investigating sleuths are now trying to ascertain how she got in touch with foreign operatives.