The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested an employee of an ordnance factory in Ferozabad for allegedly sharing confidential and sensitive information to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, after falling into a honey trap, a senior officer said on Friday afternoon.

The accused has been identified as Ravindra Kumar.

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According to Additional Director General (ADG) UP ATS Nilabja Choudhary, the accused, working at the Ordnance Factory in Hazratpur, district Firozabad, was called to ATS headquarters in Lucknow and arrested following a detailed interrogation.

The official further added that the accused, Kumar, passed the sensitive defence-related documents to a woman handler identified as ‘Neha,’ a Pakistani intelligence operative.

“ATS UP and their associate agencies got information that there is a person named Ravindra Kumar who was sharing different confidential and sensitive information with his Pak ISI handler. So, working on this, our Agra unit did a preliminary interrogation of Ravindra Kumar, and he was called to ATS headquarters for a detailed interrogation, where it was proved that he shared very sensitive information through a handler named Neha,” ADG Choudhary said while speaking to reporters here.

“This ISI module has been around for a long time,” the ADG Choudhary said.

The official added that during the interrogation, it was discovered that the accused occasionally shared the information with the said handler. “They honeytrap people and extract information from them, which poses a huge threat to national security”

“So, while interrogating him, we found out that he shared information with the said handler from time to time, which included the daily production report of the said Ordnance Factory (in which he was working) and the receipt of stores, other documents of criminal circulation, the stock that is about to arrive, the requisition, all were shared…,” ADG Choudhary added.

ADG Choudhary also requested all the sensitive institutions to maintain a minimum level of security checks on their employees

“Through you, I would request all the sensitive institutions to update their security drills, SOPs, etc., with all the officials of our vital installations and maintain a minimum level of security check on their employees so that such situations can be avoided in future…Further investigation is underway…”