On Friday, India’s anti-terrorist squad apprehended a Pakistani man who is suspected of spying on Indian defense personnel through the messaging app WhatsApp, according to reports citing an official. This arrest was carried out in the state of Gujarat by the state police’s ATS team. The accused individual is originally from Pakistan but had been granted Indian citizenship back in 2005.
The incident came to the attention of the ATS after they received intelligence from the military indicating that an Indian WhatsApp number was being operated from Pakistan for the purpose of espionage on defense personnel. The primary suspect in this case is identified as 53-year-old Labhshankar Maheshwari, residing in Tarapur town in Anand district, Gujarat. The alleged espionage was apparently conducted to aid Pakistani authorities, and it involved sending spyware to the WhatsApp accounts of Indian defense personnel under the guise of a fictitious ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign, which purportedly aimed to encourage every Indian household to display the national flag. The accused has been charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate a design to wage war against the government) and 121-A (conspiracy to wage war against the government), in addition to relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
This arrest highlights a significant case of cross-border espionage and raises concerns about the security of communication platforms like WhatsApp, with serious legal consequences for the accused.
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