Dhaka: Lt Col walks into ISI honey trap,probe ordered

Lt Col allegedly falls into honey trap set by Pakistan's ISI while on a staff course in Dhaka.

A Lt Col of the Indian Army allegedly walked into a honey trap set up by Pakistani spy agency ISI while he was undergoing a staff course in Dhaka but alerted authorities after being blackmailed to divulge secret information.

Sources said that the infantry officer allegedly got involved with a woman he met at a party in September while he was undergoing a course at the Bangladesh Military Academy. Shortly afterwards he started receiving blackmail threat from ISI handlers who had video tapes of the two together. The agents wanted the officer to spy for Pakistan and threatened to release the tapes if he did not comply.

Army officials said the officer reported the matter and his conversation with the ISI agents to the Indian High Commission in Dhaka,following which he was recalled to India. The Army has now instituted an inquiry into the matter and the officer is being questioned in New Delhi.

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The officer was called back to India two months ago and the matter is being probed. Action will be taken after the inquiry report is submitted. It doesnt seem that any crucial information was divulged as the officer reported the matter after being approached, an official said.

Besides looking at the aspect of confidential information being shared,the inquiry report is expected to come down heavily on the officer for getting himself in the embarrassing situation.

According to Army stipulations,officers posted abroad are expected to follow a strict moral code and any action to the contrary is seen as behaviour unbecoming of an officer.

The last such case in the armed forces was that of Commodore Sukhjinder Singh who got involved with a woman while posted in Russia. The officer was part of the team negotiating the price for the Gorshkov aircraft carrier refit. He was court martialled after compromising photographs of him and the woman surfaced.