Retired Indian Army captain held in Vellore over military information passed to a WhatsApp contact

Police in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu have arrested a 52-year-old retired Indian Army captain on suspicion of passing sensitive military information to an unidentified woman he had been in contact with through WhatsApp for about a year. The Economic Times, The Times of India and The Hindu all reported the arrest on Sunday 25 October. Police identified the man only by the single name Babu.

According to the reports, Babu lives in a village near Kaniyambadi on the outskirts of Vellore town, where he settled with his family after leaving the army. The Economic Times said he served in several army divisions for 28 years and retired with the rank of captain from the equipment branch. The Hindu said he spent his 28 years in the artillery and retired in 2022, while The Times of India and The Economic Times described his retirement as about a year ago. The outlets did not reconcile those details.

The case against him rests on what police and intelligence officials have told reporters, and Babu has not been charged in court or convicted. The Economic Times said the woman first reached him on WhatsApp roughly a year ago, built a relationship through inappropriate conversations and then began asking about the Indian Army. Police allege he passed on what she requested, including details about army equipment.

The Times of India gave a fuller account from police and intelligence sources. It reported that the pair held frequent detailed chats and video calls, and that the woman said she was working on a project linked to the Defence Research and Development Organisation, India's state military research agency. According to that report, she sought information on military hardware, defence strategies and operational matters.

Two of the reports say Babu went beyond his own knowledge. The Economic Times said that when he did not know an answer he phoned army offices to find out and then relayed it, and The Times of India said he contacted former and serving colleagues to gather information for her questions. Officials have not said publicly what specific material was shared or whether any of it was classified.

The reports agree that army and central intelligence officials became suspicious and questioned him before handing him to local police, though they differ on the details. The Economic Times said central intelligence officials detained him two days before its report and passed him to the Vellore rural police on Saturday night. The Times of India said he was taken to the Vellore taluk police station and questioned jointly for two days, while The Hindu said Kaniyambadi police searched his house on inputs from central agencies and recovered mobile phones, SIM cards and documents allegedly linked to the activity.

The Hindu reported that the woman is suspected of being a Pakistani intelligence operative and that central agency inquiries found a Pakistani agent had contacted Babu about a year ago. That attribution comes from police and has not been publicly confirmed, and The Economic Times said investigators were still trying to establish who operated the WhatsApp account and whether foreign nationals or organisations were involved.

The Times of India said police registered the case under section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which covers acts endangering India's sovereignty, unity and integrity, and under two spying and unlawful-disclosure sections of the Official Secrets Act of 1923. It added that the National Investigation Agency and central intelligence bureaus may join the inquiry to trace a wider network. The Hindu said Babu was lodged in Vellore Central Prison.