Jammu Police Charge Woman for Sharing Secrets with Foreign Agents

The accused, who hails from Telangana and currently resides in Jammu with her husband, was questioned by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)-rank officer as part of the investigation following the registration of the FIR

Authorities confirmed that an FIR has been filed at Gandhi Nagar Police Station under the Official Secrets Act as well as relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). These laws deal with acts that threaten national security, including espionage, unauthorised communication of confidential material, and collaboration with foreign intelligence agencies. — DC Image

Police in Jammu have launched a formal investigation after registering a case against a woman, a Telangana native and wife of an Army officer, accused of collecting and sharing sensitive information with foreign intelligence operatives, including individuals believed to have links to China.

According to PTI, the accused allegedly used artificial intelligence tools including ChatGPT and Claude to write analytical papers on sensitive national security issues for Chinese intelligence operatives. The agency reported that she undertook an IT internship with the United Nations in 2023 and was working as a freelance researcher. According to official sources, the woman — whose identity was withheld for security reasons — was booked following allegations that she had been in with foreign handlers and had passed on classified or strategically relevant information. She was not arrested but questioned following the registration of the FIR and was cooperating with the investigating agencies, officials said.

A report stated that the accused was currently living in Jammu with her husband. She was questioned by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) as part of the investigation following the registration of the FIR, according to sources.

Authorities confirmed that an FIR has been filed at the Gandhinagar police station under the Official Secrets Act as well as the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). These laws deal with acts that threaten national security, including espionage, unauthorised communication of confidential material, and collaboration with foreign intelligence agencies.

Police officials said the case was initiated after preliminary inputs suggested the woman may have been involved in activities that posed a potential risk to national security. Investigators were working to verify the nature of the information allegedly shared, the channels used, and the extent of foreign involvement.

The Jammu police have begun a detailed probe to establish the facts, identify possible collaborators, and determine whether the accused was part of a larger network, an official said. He noted that all allegations are being examined thoroughly, and further action will depend on the findings of the ongoing investigation.

Police sources stated that “further investigation into the case is underway,” with additional leads expected to be pursued in the coming days.

PTI reported officials as saying that the accused was allegedly tasked to write analytical papers on sensitive security, defence, and geopolitical issues, specifically covering Line of Control (LoC) dynamics in Jammu and Kashmir, critical infrastructure projects in Arunachal Pradesh, and drone deployment.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint team comprising personnel from the central intelligence agency and police intercepted the accused at Jammu Tawi railway station on October 14 when she was reportedly preparing to board a train to Pathankot. She was taken to a nearby military station for questioning, the officials said. Her mobile phone was seized and sent for a detailed forensic analysis, PTI reported.

The accused, married a serving Army officer in October 2023, had completed her Master of Advanced Studies in European and International Governance in Geneva in 2022. She had also earned a master's degree in international relations from a university in Bengaluru in 2021.

She had also undertaken an online internship with the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) in New Delhi and authored research articles, the officials said.

Interrogation indicated that she had interacted with several foreign nationals during her UN internship, including a Chinese national with whom she allegedly maintained through WhatsApp.

The officials claimed that in 2024, she was in via social media with a Malaysian national running a consultancy who was allegedly working for Chinese intelligence agencies.

The accused reportedly maintained during questioning that her material was based entirely on open-source research supplemented by AI platforms OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude, PTI reported.

Preliminary extraction of data from her seized mobile phone showed documents authored on sensitive subjects including the India-Italy defence meeting at the Manekshaw Centre, the Indian Army Chief's visit to the United States, the India-Russia defence pact, the Kalai-II Hydroelectric and Kamala projects in Arunachal Pradesh, the Cold Start doctrine, India-Seychelles relations, projects in Assam, and India-China relations, PTI quoted the officials as stating.

Investigators were examining whether the accused engaged in systematic research and information-sharing with suspected foreign contacts under the guise of freelance research, they said, adding that a comprehensive forensic examination of her digital devices and financial transactions is underway to establish the exact nature of the shared material.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle with agency inputs )