All social networking platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other messengers from here on now will not be allowed at the naval bases and ships.
New Delhi, December 30
After the recent arrest of seven navy personnel for allegedly leaking sensitive information to an espionage racket with links to Pakistan, the Indian Navy has issued direction to ban the use of all smartphones and social networking platforms onboard ships and naval bases.
“All social networking platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other messengers from here on now will not be allowed at the naval bases and ships,” said a senior Indian Navy officer.
The officer said that moreover no smartphones were allowed onboard ships and naval bases.
On December 20, Intelligence agencies busted an espionage racket linked to Pakistan with the arrest of seven Indian Navy personnel and a hawala operator.
The arrest of the seven navy officials from Mumbai, Karvar and Vishakapatnam for leaking sensitive information about the movements of warships and submarines to Pakistani agents had exposed lapses in the security apparatus placed around critical assets in India.
“Three sailors were arrested from Visakhapatnam, two from Karwar and two from Mumbai,” said intelligence agencies, which busted the espionage racket being run by Pakistan.
The agencies had stated that both Eastern and Western naval command centres, responsible for security of the maritime borders from China and Pakistan, were exposed to these Pakistan’s agents.
“Some more suspects are being questioned,” the agencies said.
The agencies pointed that Vishakapatnam, the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the Indian Navy and also the base of the nuclear submarine Arihant, was exposed to the espionage racket. It also stated that the Eastern Command keeps tab upon the suspicious Chinese ship movements in the Indian waters.
The western naval command is located in Mumbai from where all nefarious activities carried out by Pakistan was also exposed and so was Karvar, the naval centre which has the lone aircraft carrier Vikramaditya.
The Indian Navy, however, maintained that all of their critical assets are intact and there is no security breach.
About arrests, the force said: “In a joint operation with the Naval Intelligence and Central Intelligence Agencies, Andhra Pradesh Police arrested some junior naval personnel. The case is under investigation by Andhra Pradesh Police.” In the meantime, Andhra Pradesh police intelligence wing had also said that they have busted the racket under an operation named ‘Dolphin’s Nose’ in association with the central intelligence agencies and Naval Intelligence.
The accused were produced before the National Investigation Agency court in Vijayawada on December 20. They were remanded to judicial custody till January 3.
The police had said that all the arrested officials were in touch with Pakistani women who had befriended them on Facebook.
It is alleged that officials were paid through a hawala operator for providing information. The chats between these sailors who were being used by Pakistanis were sexually explicit.
Sources said the honey trap with women posing as their friends on Facebook was set up by the Pakistani intelligence operatives. The sailors were later blackmailed and forced to give information.
“We are further probing the matter and more people could be arrested,” said the agencies.—IANS
Navy bans use of social media, smartphones for personnel
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI : A new directive issued by the Indian Navy on Friday has banned the use of social media and smartphones for all its personnel.
The move has come after seven sailors in Vishakapatnam were arrested for allegedly passing on information to Pakistan, through a spying racket which had agents posing as women on social media.
The case was cracked this month by the Andhra Pradesh police that found a ‘hawala’ operator managing the operation with the help of Navy personnel posted in Mumbai, Karwar and Vizag.
The order first reported by the Stratpost website says, “Recent case of inimical elements targeting naval personnel over social media to elicit sensitive/operational information is a matter of serious concern necessitating stringent correctives.”
Listing out what will now be treated as contraband in the Navy, it says that Facebook will be banned and there will be no more smart phones on naval bases or dockyards and even ships. All staffers from the Chief and below will have to all delete their Facebook accounts.
The Navy spokesperson were unavailable for comment on the matter.
However, with the widespread use of social media sites, the order has proved to be quite a source of concern for many. The order says that they are also considering further ban on messaging apps, blogging, content sharing, and even e-commerce sites which means that online shopping will also be prohibited.
Explaining the move, Captain (retd) DK Sharma, a former spokesperson of the force said, “As they say, loose lips sink ships. You have to be absolutely discreet and this has to be drilled into the minds of one and all.”
So far, the Navy and other forces only had an advisory on discreet use of social media, which meant that they were not allowed to upload any photos of themselves in uniform or share any work details. There is not restriction on family members of the personnel using social media yet.
A former officer said that they could expect lockers outside official rooms to deposit all phones and even someone deleting all user profiles. “There were honey trap cases earlier as well,” he said, adding that he was unsure how effective the ban will be.
“A ban on use of social media may be introduced as a precautionary measure but the efficacy is debatable. Use through proxies or fictitious handles would have to be addressed. Procedures may have to be fine tuned as we go along since the use of social media is proliferating across multiple platforms,” Commodore Uday Bhaskar said.
The Navy’s own Facebook page, however, will continue to operate to showcase the work to all.