The Spy from Alwar: How a Social Media Honey Trap Uncovered an ISI Espionage Network
Alwar, Rajasthan — It began, as many modern betrayals do, with a friend request.
Mangat Singh, a 42-year-old resident of Govindgarh in Alwar district, was an ordinary man by all accounts — soft-spoken, approachable, and well-known in his neighbourhood.
But behind the familiar face of a local trader lay a secret life that, according to investigators, was being quietly steered from across the border.
For nearly two years, Singh had been chatting online with a woman who called herself Isha Sharma.
She was charming, attentive, and always eager to talk. She told him she admired his patriotism and his knowledge of local areas.
Slowly, she began asking questions — small at first — about troop movements near the cantonment, about the layout of Alwar city, and about certain restricted zones.
Singh obliged.
At first, he thought nothing of it.
The conversations were harmless, he told himself. But Isha Sharma was no ordinary admirer.
She was, intelligence officials later revealed, a Pakistani operative working for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) — the spy agency that had long targeted Indian citizens through digital honey traps.
The Digital Web Tightens
Investigators believe Singh was caught in a classic honey-trap operation. The woman offered him affection, attention — and later, small sums of money.
A few thousand rupees here and there, transferred discreetly, were enough to convince him that his “friendship” was real.
In return, Singh began sharing photographs, videos, and snippets of information about the Alwar Cantonment and other sensitive military sites.
Unbeknownst to him, Indian intelligence officers were already watching.
Under Operation Sindoor, a state-level surveillance drive launched after the Pahalgam terror attack, intelligence teams had been monitoring suspicious online interactions in border districts.
Alwar, part of the National Capital Region and home to several defence installations, had been classified as a “sensitive zone.”
It wasn’t long before Singh’s digital footprints stood out. His phone logs, social media messages, and a sudden influx of funds from unknown foreign accounts raised red flags.
The Arrest
On October 10, 2025, Rajasthan’s CID (Intelligence) moved in. Singh was picked up quietly from his residence and taken to Jaipur for interrogation.
Inside the Central Enquiry Centre, a multi-agency team questioned him for hours. They examined his phone, tracked encrypted messages, and confirmed his connection to the ISI handler.
After cross-verification and technical analysis, investigators registered a case under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, one of India’s most stringent national security laws.
By evening, Mangat Singh — once an unsuspecting local man — was officially labelled a spy.
He was produced before a special court in Jaipur and remanded in police custody for three days. The arrest, officials said, had prevented a possible information leak of “strategic importance.”
The Shadow of Operation Sindoor
The Alwar espionage case is the latest in a growing list of ISI-linked honey-trap operations uncovered in Rajasthan.
Over the past year, at least four arrests have been made in Jaisalmer alone, each involving individuals manipulated through social media by Pakistani handlers posing as Indian women.
Officials admit that these digital traps are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
“They begin with innocent chats — friendship, patriotism, flattery — and before the target realises it, they are passing on information that can endanger national security,” said a senior intelligence officer.
Operation Sindoor, launched earlier this year, has expanded surveillance in cantonment areas and near-border zones, combining human intelligence with AI-based monitoring of suspicious digital exchanges.
A Cautionary Tale
What makes the Mangat Singh case particularly alarming is that he had no official connection to the armed forces. He wasn’t a soldier or a government employee — just an ordinary citizen who lived close enough to military zones to observe and talk.
“This is what makes espionage in the social media era so dangerous,” said a retired RAW officer. “You no longer need classified documents or official access. A mobile phone camera and a few careless messages can do the job.”
Singh’s alleged betrayal may have been born out of loneliness, greed, or misplaced trust — perhaps all three. But in the digital chessboard of modern espionage, such vulnerabilities are what foreign agencies exploit most effectively.
The Road Ahead
As investigators dig deeper into Singh’s communications, more arrests are expected. His contacts, money trail, and the encrypted chats with Isha Sharma are now being forensically decoded.
Meanwhile, in Alwar, the incident has caused unease. Residents are stunned that someone from their midst could be passing secrets to Pakistan.
The Rajasthan Police have reiterated that vigilance will continue, especially in areas linked to national security. “Our priority is to ensure that no individual — knowingly or unknowingly — becomes a threat to the country,” an officer said.
As for Mangat Singh, the man who mistook espionage for affection, he now sits behind bars — his virtual romance having turned into a national scandal.
