The Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence (CI) cell on Saturday arrested a 31-year-old Indian Navy sailor for allegedly sharing classified maritime intelligence with a Pakistani operative. The espionage operation involved a social media "honey trap," according to a report by news agency PTI, citing officials.

Pradeep Mukherjee was arrested at INS Agrani, a naval leadership training facility in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore.

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Who Is Indian Navy Sailor Pradeep Mukherjee?

Mukherjee hails from West Bengal and joined the Indian Navy in 2014. He was actively posted with the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.

At the time of his arrest, he was attending a management development course and had been at the Coimbatore facility for approximately a week.

How The Social Media Honey Trap Worked

A female Pakistani intelligence operative reportedly contacted Mukherjee on social media several months ago. Over time, she built an online relationship to extract sensitive defence data.

The leaked data allegedly included critical details regarding strategic naval assets, fleet movement schedules, and the operational framework of the Visakhapatnam base.

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How Counter Intelligence Caught The Sailor

The Counter Intelligence (CI) cell, a specialised unit tasked with investigating cross-border espionage and terror threats, flagged suspicious digital activity linked to the sailor's accounts. Investigators launched a probe and placed Mukherjee under strict surveillance.

Once they gathered sufficient evidence of classified data transmission, they arrested him at the training facility.

(With Inputs From PTI)