SRINAGAR: The Indian Army has ordered a court of inquiry into an alleged case of data breach at the Udhampur-based Northern Command in Jammu and Kashmir after a soldier was found to have passed on tactical and operational military data to Pakistan’s ISI, The Telegraph quoted sources in the army headquarters as having said.
The breach, The Telegraph quoted a senior army official as having said, came to light early this month amid heightened tensions along the Line of Control with Pakistan and the ongoing border standoff with China on the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May last year.
“It’s an extremely serious issue as the alleged data breach involves top military secrets including specifics of vital installation, army deployment, patrolling routes and military maps along the LoC and the LAC in the Ladakh sector,” The Telegraph quoted the official as saying.
Considering the sensitivity of the matter, he said, the top army brass had immediately ordered a court of inquiry to ascertain the extent of the breach. The army spokesperson in Delhi declined to comment.
The Udhampur-based Northern Command is in charge of security on both the China and Pakistan borders in the Ladakh sector.
The breach came to light following a tip-off from India’s external spy agency Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). The sources said several officers were under the scanner for the failure to detect the breach.
As per records available with the Union home ministry, 13 serving and retired defence personnel had been arrested for allegedly spying for the ISI or being part of its espionage racket over the past six years, reported The Telegraph.
