IAF officer taken into custody on charges of espionage

New Delhi: A Group Captain, posted at the IAF's headquarters here, has been taken into custody by the force for alleged involvement in espionage and possible attempt to access sensitive documents, official sources said on Wednesday.

The investigators are probing whether the officer was a victim of honey trap as it is suspected he was sending pictures of classified documents to a woman through WhatsApp. It is also being probed whether he was part of a larger espionage ring being run from Pakistan, the sources said. The officer was indulging in certain "unwanted activities" through unauthorised electronic devices which is against existing orders, they said.

Apparently, he got in touch with the woman through social media whose identity has not yet been established. A team of the IAF's central security and investigation took the officer into custody, and currently he is being interrogated, said the sources. The "unwanted" activities by the officer were discovered during routine counter intelligence surveillance, the sources said, adding he attempted to possess sensitive documents. The IAF officially did not comment on the matter.

The identity of the officer has been kept secret as investigation into the case was going on, the sources said. The investigators are also examining whether the officer has passed on any sensitive information to anyone.