The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested 27-year-old Ravindra Verma, a mechanical engineer from Kalwa, Thane, on espionage charges after he allegedly gave a Pakistani intelligence officer confidential information on Indian naval warships and submarines.
As part of his duties as a junior engineer for a private defense technology company, Verma was given access to the Naval Dockyard in south Mumbai.
He was able to board Navy ships and submarines in this capacity, gathering operational and secret technical data.
According to investigations, Pakistani intelligence agents using the Facebook personas Payal Sharma and Ispreet tricked Verma into falling for their ruse. Under the guise of a project, these agents first made contact with him in November 2024 by showing interest in warships and submarines. They then progressively coerced him into a personal connection in order to obtain sensitive information. Verma purposefully shared classified information while being fully aware that he was doing so, and he was paid money through a number of bank accounts in India and overseas in return.
Verma would commit the technical specifications, defect lists, and operational statuses of the ships he worked on to memory because of stringent security measures that forbade cell phones within the Naval Dockyard. He would use audio notes, schematics, and doodles to communicate this information to the operatives via WhatsApp after his shifts. Verma is suspected of further jeopardizing national security by disclosing the identities of particular warships and submarines.
Verma had been providing private information on a periodic basis between November 2024 and March 2025, according to the ATS inquiry, which started in response to intelligence inputs. By creating an online relationship and pretending to be women, the agents convinced Verma to provide detailed information about naval assets and their upkeep conditions.
After being taken into custody and appearing in court, Verma was placed under ATS custody until June 2. The complaint has been filed for illegally communicating sensitive government information and jeopardizing national security under the applicable provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The arrest brings to light persistent worries about espionage that uses social media honey traps to target defense personnel, underscoring the necessity of increased cybersecurity awareness and vigilance among those who have access to key sites. Two Pakistani intelligence officers and another Indian person are wanted in connection with the crime, and the ATS is still looking into it.
