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Suspense crime, Digital Desk : The recent arrest of YouTuber Jyoti Malhotra for allegedly leaking sensitive military details to Pakistan has once again drawn focus toward a similar case — and perhaps much more high-profile — of Indian diplomat Madhuri Gupta who was charged for spying in 2018.

Madhuri Gupta: The Spy Diplomat

Gupta worked for the Indian Diplomatic Service and was the second secretary (Press and Information) at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad in 2010. She was eventually charged for spying for Pakistan after being allegedly honey-trapped by Pakistan’s intelligence services.

This information was made public in the 2000s, particularly in the months following the Mumbai attacks, when the international relations situation between India and Pakistan was already permeated by tension. Surveillance by India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) flagged guarded suspicious Gupta activities due to some intelligence alerts.

In her case, the Gupta being framed narrative is far more believable because she was fed information that was already being marked as sensitive and in some cases even proprietary. Gupta was fetched back in Delhi because of pretense work coordination for the SAARC summit. She was arrested under the Official Secrets Act on April 22, 2010, after spending a night at home and reporting to the Ministry of External Affairs the next morning.

Legal Consequences and Conviction

Gupta was charged in 2012 under Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, which could have resulted in a 14 year jail sentence. She was incarcerated in Tihar Jail for 21 months before being granted bail. A Delhi court convicted her in 2018. Gupta, who later relocated to Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, died in 2021 aged 64, while her appeal was pending in the Delhi High Court at the time of death.

The Honeytrap Operation

She not only topped UPSC, but was also an alumna of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Gupta had served in several Indian missions abroad before being assigned to Islamabad in 2007. She spoke fluent Urdu and was passionate about Sufism and poetry. It was during this time that a Pakistani journalist introduced her to a man named Jamshed (alias ‘Jim’).

Conversations covering multiple issues gradually morphed into a romantic relationship. Gupta was reportedly besotted by Jamshed, who was 30 at the time and later identified as an ISI operative, and transformed from an ISI operative into her lover after posing as a journalist.

As per the investigation, Gupta leaked the following confidential information:

Details concerning the operational activities of the Indian Army.

Intelligence concerning R&AW.

India-U.S. intelligence sharing.

Inquiry into the 26/11 attacks.

In her letters, she asserted life-changing aspirations where she wanted to convert to Islam, marry Jamshed, and move to Istanbul. She was known to quote Rumi, talk about Urdu poetry, and display an affection towards Sufism which indicated that her Sufi thought sent her emotional manipulators her handlers used to exploit her weaknesses emotionally.

A Thematic approach to espionage

Both Jyoti Malhotra and Madhuri Gupta underscore the increasing likelihood of being manipulated through an emotional lens and deception at the hands of technology. Such incidents are especially telling of the efforts that go behind careful research into one’s vulnerabilities. As Indian agencies step up their efforts to tighten the noose and bring discipline into the tremors caused by chronic trust deficit, these cases portray no less than a crucial reminder towards the dimensions of the surrenders of digital breaches of security.

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