Jammu-based Army officer's wife booked for 'espionage', Chinese links

Jammu, Oct 18 (IANS) A senior Army officer’s wife was booked for espionage by Jammu and Kashmir Police for sharing sensitive information with “Chinese agents” who, posing as academicians, made her write articles on defence issues, said an official source on Sunday.

The Gandhi Nagar Police Station in Jammu registered the FIR (Number 290/2026) against the wife of the Army officer, a resident of Telangana, under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, along with Sections 152 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), said the source.

The accused woman was allegedly sharing information, sensitive documents, photographs and electronic data through encrypted communication channels with suspects linked to foreign intelligence agencies.

The Jammu Police are digging deeper into the circumstances under which the foreign operatives or “academicians” established with the woman.

Apart from seizing digital devices and probing the financial trail of the transactions between the woman and the “academicians”, the police may engage forensic experts to examine other gadgets, including the woman's mobile phone, and those of her kin, said an official source.

The woman allegedly fell into the trap laid by the dubious academicians who posed as digital content creators and made her write long-form articles on a wide range of issues including environment, geopolitics and defence.

According to the source, the Jammu Police FIR not only mentions China but also refers to other countries whose intelligence operatives “trapped” the woman and, knowingly or unknowingly, sensitive information.

The Jammu Police were tipped off the suspicious communication between the Army officer’s wife and her foreign-based contacts by an agency’s intelligence arm.

The accused has been booked under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) that deals with offences related to endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. The offence, if proven in court, may invite punishment ranging from seven years to life imprisonment, with a fine.

The maximum punishment for spying, as mentioned in Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, is 14 years of imprisonment. The offence of wrongful communication of information under the Act carries a maximum jail term of three years.