Army Lt Col questioned for data leak

A Jabalpur-based Lt Col has been detained and being questioned by the army intelligence officials on the suspicion of data leak.

The officer posted at 506 army base workshop was quizzed by the Military Intelligence after the alert by the Intelligence Bureau.

"The officer continues with his routine duties in the unit because it is yet to be ascertained whether the data leak was deliberate or an inadvertent mistake," army officials said here.

Senior officials said the reports of the Lt Col being honey-trapped or receiving a large amount of cash were "pure speculation and neither accurate nor substantiated."

"Details on the outcome of the enquiry will be intimated in due course as per progress. It is yet to be established whether the data leak happened inadvertently or deliberately as reported," they noted.

Army ordered a preliminary enquiry on Monday following its own internal probe on the basis of an alert from the IB that got suspicious after discovering a big recent transaction in his bank account. The Lt Col belongs to the EME (Electronic and Mechanical Engineers) corps of the army.

Officials at the Army headquarters ruled out any information breach. "Inimical intelligence agencies make no inroads, own information security is always robust and defaulters are taken to task," said an officer.

The case comes to limelight days after an Indian Air Force officer Arun Marwaha was arrested by Delhi Police for sharing sensitive information to a woman, who later turned out to be an ISI agent. Allegedly the woman honey-trapped the IAF officer in exchange of the information.

Espionage in the armed forces is not something new. Three cases of spying were reported between 2012 to 2014. Nine army personnel were arrested in these cases. In December 2015, one personnel each from army and IAF were arrested for espionage activities.

In the armed forces, regular counterintelligence checks are being carried out in all units in coordination with other central agencies to defeat subversion and espionage attempts of foreign intelligence agents.

Further, service personnel are regularly educated on the modus operandi of foreign intelligence operatives including awareness drive on threats from social media, sources said.