Man from Kerala poses as PMO official, calls Navy for details on INS Vikrant; arrested
India News: As the leader of the carrier battle group, INS Vikrant never sails alone. The aircraft carrier is accompanied by a host of warships, including destroyers, frigates, submarines, and other combat support vessels.
Police in the southern Indian state of Kerala have taken a man into custody after he called the headquarters of the Navy’s Southern Naval Command, posing as a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) official, and asked for details on the location of India’s mission-deployed aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. This comes at a time when India’s frontline assets, including the indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant and its carrier battle group, are deployed as part of India’s high-profile Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.
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According to the Defence Public Relations Officer in Kochi, “A suspicious call inquiring about Naval assets was received from a civil phone number at Naval Base, Kochi, on May 9th. The Navy’s internal security mechanism promptly flagged the incident and brought it to the attention of the concerned intelligence agencies.”
Notably, this call seeking details on INS Vikrant was received at a time when India’s offensive military operations against Pakistan were at their peak. As the leader of the carrier battle group, INS Vikrant never sails alone. The aircraft carrier is accompanied by a host of warships, including destroyers, frigates, submarines, and other combat support vessels.
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Following the initial probe by the naval intelligence, an FIR was registered at the Harbour Police Station in Kochi. In connection with this incident, one Mujeeb Rahman, a Keralite hailing from Elathur in Kozhikode, has been taken into custody. There are claims that Mujeeb is mentally unstable and had been undergoing treatment.
However, the timing of the incident and the call to the Southern Naval Command in Kochi raise serious questions.
INS Vikrant was built at the Indian government’s Cochin Shipyard Limited and formally commissioned (inducted) into the Indian Navy at Kochi. A detailed police investigation is underway.
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"The Indian Navy remains ever vigilant against subversive and espionage activities carried out by adversarial elements to obtain sensitive information. Maintaining a high level of preparedness, the Indian Navy is committed to the highest standards of operational security in the national interest," added Defence PRO Kochi.
