The recent arrest of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra over an alleged espionage charge reminded India of another past chapter of betrayal. It is the spying case of former Indian diplomat and Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer Madhuri Gupta. Back in 2010, she was arrested over divulging sensitive information to Pakistan's intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
'Spy' Row: Jyoti Malhotra's Arrest Reminds Of Madhuri Gupta Spying Case | What Happened 15 Years Ago?
Being a seasoned IFS officer, she was handpicked for her role as an Indian diplomat in Pakistan where she served as the Second Secretary (Press and Information) at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
While Haryana-based Jyoti Malhotra allegedly made advances through social media platforms, Gupta reportedly compromised national security by operating withing the core sanctums of Indian diplomacy.
Who Was Madhuri Gupta?
Madhuri was an alumna of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) before entering her career in diplomacy which lasted for with 27 long years.
Being a seasoned IFS officer, she was handpicked for her role as an Indian diplomat in Pakistan where she served as the Second Secretary (Press and Information) at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
She also was fluent in Urdu, which gave her added advantage. Her job description included monitoring of local media and reporting developments to New Delhi.
What Did Madhuri Gupta Do?
In early 2010, Indian intelligence circles were alerted when the then Intelligence Bureau Director Rajiv Mathur was reportedly tipped off about a leak within the Islamabad mission.
Upon conducting an extensive covert operation, Gupta was found to be one compromising the national security. Further investigation pointed to an emotional, romantic angle as Gupta had reportedly fallen in love with a much younger Pakistani man named Jamshed, who later turned out to be an ISI operative.
Under the cover of the romantic relationship, she was manipulated to expose sensitive state secrets.
What Did She Leak?
Extensive probe into the matter later revealed that Gupta passed along classified information about India's foreign policy, internal defence operations, the identities and passwords of intelligence officers, and even details related to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Moreover, she operated through email accounts created by ISI handlers and communicated through Blackberry devices and laptops. Most of the devices were later retrieved by the investigators. As per reports, she also was in regular touch with two ISI officers, Mubshar Raza Rana and Jamshed.
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What further anchored the suspicion was her trip to Jammu and Kashmir under the pretense of attending a wedding while the real reason was to assemble intelligence about the region's hydroelectric infrastructure 바카라” a matter of significant interest to Pakistani intelligence.
Upon gathering enough substantial evidence to question her, Gupta was summoned to New Delhi under the pretext of SAARC summit preparations.
On April 22, 2010, she was apprehended by Delhi Police's Special Cell and charged under the Official Secrets Act.
The court found her guilty of criminal conspiracy under Sections 3 and 5 of the Act and Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.
Though the information she leaked did not directly pertain to India's military hardware, the court emphasized that it was still critical and could be "extremely useful to the enemy country."
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