Jammu:
From flirtatious texts to a SIM-enabled spy camera, the Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI) honeytrap playbook in Jammu is getting bolder and more hi-tech. In a major counter-espionage bust, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested a 24-year-old truck driver from Kathua for allegedly setting up a live surveillance feed for Pakistani handlers after falling into a trap.
A case has been registered against the accused Aman under the Official Secrets Act. The action follows a joint operation by Jammu and Kashmir Police and intelligence agencies.
How The Trap Was Laid
According to sources, Aman was first lured through social media by operatives linked to Pakistan’s ISI. Once under the influence, he was tasked with conducting reconnaissance of military installations and logistical routes along the sensitive Kathua border belt.
The breakthrough, police say, was not just photos; it was hardware.
During interrogation, police found that Aman had installed a SIM-enabled CCTV camera outside his house, angled at a road frequently used by security forces near the border. The camera allegedly livestreamed footage to his handlers. He was paid Rs 20,000 for the installation, with payments routed through a Dubai-based channel.
“His mobile phone has been seized and forensic analysis is under way,” a senior police officer said.
Emerging Pattern In Jammu
This is the second such ISI network to be busted in the Jammu region in four months, pointing to a shift from simple photo-sharing to 24×7 digital surveillance.
In May, police arrested 23-year-old Karan Kumar, a school dropout from Makwal village in Jammu, for similar charges. He was allegedly lured on Snapchat by a woman posing as a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan posted in Punjab, who trapped him with explicit video calls, extracted his mother’s WhatsApp OTP to hijack his account, and then allegedly got him to send photos of bunkers and flyovers for Rs 2,000.
Another module was busted in Pathankot, where a man was arrested for installing a CCTV camera outside a shop in Sujanpur overlooking the Jammu-Pathankot National Highway, a lifeline for Army movement to Kashmir, to stream convoy movement to Pakistan.
Police have issued a fresh advisory cautioning young people in border areas about fake female profiles on Snapchat, Messenger and Instagram posing as BSF personnel, Kashmiri women or job agents, luring them with money and obscene content to extract sensitive information.
