India Busts Espionage Network as Gujarat ATS Arrests Ex-Army Man and Woman for Leaking Military Secrets

Ahmedabad, December 4, 2025— The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad has uncovered a cross-border espionage operation with the arrest of a retired Army soldier and a woman accused of sharing confidential information about Indian military establishments with Pakistani intelligence handlers. Officials said the arrests were made on Thursday after investigators traced communications between the accused and agents operating from Pakistan.

Ajaykumar Singh, 47, who retired as a Subedar in 2022, was taken into custody from Goa, where he worked in a distillery. Investigators revealed that he was targeted by a Pakistani operative posing as ‘Ankita Sharma’, who contacted him during his posting in Dimapur, Nagaland. She allegedly gained his trust and persuaded him to share sensitive details regarding troop movements and officer transfers. Singh reportedly sent the information through messages, photos, and videos. He was also instructed to install a Trojan malware file that gave remote access to his phone, bypassing the need to transfer information manually.

The second accused, 35-year-old Rashmani Pal from Uttar Pradesh, was arrested from Daman. According to the ATS, she acted as a facilitator for Pakistani handlers identified as ‘Abdul Sattar’ and ‘Khalid’. Operating under the fake identity ‘Priya Thakur’, Pal allegedly attempted to honeytrap Indian military personnel by building relationships with targets whose details were sent to her from across the border. She was tasked with collecting details about specific Army units, war exercises, and movement patterns. For financial transactions, she opened a new account at a payments bank on the instruction of her handlers.

The ATS said evidence of espionage—including WhatsApp calls from foreign numbers, messages, documents, and financial records—was recovered from the devices of the accused. Officials added that the Pakistani handlers operated from cities such as Multan, Sargodha, and Lahore, using VPNs and virtual international numbers to mask their identity.

The arrests have raised concerns over renewed attempts by Pakistan-based operatives to target Indian defence personnel through online manipulation, social engineering, and digital surveillance tools.