The Facebook accounts in the names of Kiran Randhwa and Mahima Patel were found deactivated just after Group Captain Arun Marwaha, accused of allegedly leaking defence secrets to ISI agents, was arrested by the Delhi Police on Thursday.
Police suspect that the alleged Facebook accounts had honey-trapped him and got the secret information by luring him with sexting.
During interrogation, the Indian Air Force officer told the police he had never met or spoken to them (the Facebook friends). He accepted their friend request in December last year and numbers were exchanged on Facebook chat. Thereafter they chatted on WhatsApp and shared pictures with each other.
Neither of the two profiles is now on Marwaha’s Facebook friends’ list any more and police suspect those were deleted after he moved the conversations to WhatsApp messenger.
“We are going through the profiles of suspicious Facebook friends on his profile. His mobiles phones and laptop was confiscated by IAF officials on January 30. The devices have been sent for forensic examination to retrieve data to know the documents exchanged from his mobile,” said Pramod Kushwaha, DCP (Special Cell)
He never asked the women about the purpose of demanding documents related to defence combat exercises. He was never blackmailed, said Mr Kushwaha.
“The persons chatting on the other end never identified themselves as spies but after a few days of chatting, they challenged Marwaha to prove that his claim of being an IAF officer on Facebook. Responding to this, Marwaha sent a picture of himself in uniform but the women said they were not convinced,” said the officer.
Marwaha then allegedly sent a document pertaining to the Air Force but the women said they wanted to see more such documents and only then would they send the videos he was seeking.
“To prove his position as it was challenged by the women and to get videos, he repeatedly started clicking pictures of the documents and sending those on WhatsApp, defying a no-mobile rule in the IAF headquarters,” said a police official.
Police are also trying to find out from Facebook the IP addresses of the accounts from where messages were first sent to Marwaha on the social networking site.
The officer confirmed that he never received any money nor was an offer made by the alleged ISI agents.
Investigators added that Marwaha has had a very reputed career in as an Air Force professional who was an expert in skydiving. Marwaha’s Facebook profile is also full of such images where he has been captured paragliding. He was the team leader of IAF group who performed skydiving during common wealth games opening ceremony in year 2010 in Delhi
“He has also been a trainer in many defence establishments and other places too. Marwaha was due to retire next year. One of his sons is also a commissioned fighter pilot in IAF while the other is a software professional settled in another city. Before his arrest, Marwaha lived with his wife in Delhi Cantonment area,” said the officer.
