Sufism, Seduction and Honeytrap: Rise and fall of Diplomat turned spy Madhuri Gupta
PTC News Desk: Long before Haryana based Youtuber Jyoti Malhotra's arrest for allegedly spying for Pakistan, India accounted for a similar incident exuding betrayal. The incident dates back to 2010 when another woman, Madhuri Gupta a mid-level diplomat took the centre stage in a shocking case of espionage while she was stationed in Islamabad.
Diplomat to Spy
It was in early 2010 when India's ties with Pakistan were already on the brink due to the 26/11 attacks. India was exercising due caution as the nation couldn't risk another intelligence failure months after Mumbai terror attacks. It is then the word of a mole in Indian High Commission in Islamabad travelled to the then Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Mathur.
All the dots and internal links were being connected to Madhuri Gupta, a Grade B Indian Foreign Service officer and Second Secretary (Press & Information) in Islamabad. Preliminary reports did not corroborate with Madhuri's profile as a double agent, however following rigorous probe, a different story came to the fore.
Soon after the intelligence inputs signaled Gupta's suspicious activities, then IB chief Mathur informed Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief KC Verma and Home Secretary GK Pillai.
As the inputs about significant leaks traced back to her, she was put under solid surveillance for two weeks. During this period she was fed with false and planted information and their leaks confirmed that she was serving the interests of Pakistan.
End of diplomatic career
As soon as the reports confirmed her espionage, she was summoned to Delhi under the garb of provding media assistance for the SAARC Summit to be held in Bhutan later that year. She arrived in the national capital on 21 April 2010, spent the night at her West Delhi residence, and reported to the MEA office the next morning.
Moments after her arrival at the South Block, she was taken into custody by Special Cell of Delhi Police for leaking classified defence information to Pakistan's ISI. She was arrested on April 22, 2010, under the Official Secrets Act.
Madhuri Gupta was first charged in 2012 under sections 3 and 5 of Official Secrets Acts which holds a sentence period of maximum 14 years. She spent 21 months in jail before securing bail.
Eventually in 2018 Madhuri Gupta was convicted of spying for Pakistan. In October 2021 she breathed her last while still awaiting for trial at the age of 64. Her appeal against the conviction was pending in the Delhi High Court at the time of her death.
What made Madhuri Gupta fall?
The investigation signalled that Madhuri fell prey to honeytrap. "They threw a young man at her and she got trapped," said investigating officer Pankaj Sood. That young man was Jamshed, alias Jim, a Pakistani operative in his 30s, half her age, who had been tasked with seducing Gupta and extracting sensitive information.
The probe also revealed that ex diplomat was head over heels infatuated with Jamshed and often expressed her wish of converting to Islam and getting married to Jamshed. Her allegiance with Urdu and poetry is what Jamshed took advantage of and exploited her.
According to the chargesheet, investigators retrieved around 73 emails exchanged via two email addresses allegedly created by the Pakistani agents for Gupta: **lastrao@gmail.com and **arao@gmail.com.
"She had blown the covers of all the Indian intelligence officials in Pakistan, disclosed biographical details for every employee at the High Commission, and also mentioned the existence of 'some secret routes to India'," said investigating officer Pankaj Sood.
- PTC NEWS
