Retd Army captain held in TN for sharing military secrets with woman

Vellore: A retired Indian Army captain was arrested in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore, allegedly for leaking confidential military secrets to an unidentified woman on WhatsApp, police said on Monday.

The 52-year-old retired official, who was arrested following a tip-off, was identified as Babu P. He had provided confidential information about army equipment to the unidentified woman, they said.

Babu had served in the Indian Army for 28 years in various divisions, including the military equipment and artillery wings, before retiring in 2025 as a captain.

Since his retirement, he has been residing in Keezhvallam village near Kaniyambadi in the district, police said.

He was approached on WhatsApp about a year ago by a woman who claimed to be working on a project for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and over time the conversations grew personal, including video calls.

Under the pretext of the DRDO project, she sought sensitive military information.

Babu allegedly shared data he possessed and had even called serving and retired colleagues, as well as Army offices, to gather additional information requested by the woman.

Further investigation is on to confirm her identity and location.

Following a two-day joint interrogation by central intelligence officials, Babu was formally handed over to the local police.

He has been booked under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3(1)(c) and 5(1)(a) of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and remanded to the Vellore Central Prison on Saturday, police said.