31-year-old Indian Navy sailor 'honey trapped', lured into sharing classified data with Pakistani operative

Pradeep Mukherjee was arrested at INS Agrani, a naval leadership training facility in Coimbatore, by the Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence (CI) cell.

Updated on: Oct 4, 2026, 15:23:31 IST

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A 31-year-old Indian Navy sailor was reportedly arrested on October 3 for allegedly transmitting classified maritime intelligence to a Pakistani operative. The espionage case involved a social media-based “honey trap", news agency PTI reported, citing official sources.

Pradeep Mukherjee was arrested at INS Agrani, a naval leadership training facility in Coimbatore, by the Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence (CI) cell.

Mukherjee, a native of West Bengal, was attending a management development course at the time of his arrest and had been at the Coimbatore facility for around a week.

He joined the Navy in 2014, and was posted with the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.

Investigators said a female Pakistani intelligence operative had reportedly contacted Mukherjee several months earlier. The online relationship was allegedly used to obtain sensitive data regarding strategic naval assets, fleet movements, and the operational framework of the Visakhapatnam base.

The CI cell, which specialises in investigating cross-border espionage and terror-related threats, launched an inquiry after detecting suspicious digital activity linked to the sailor. He was subsequently placed under surveillance before being arrested.

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