A senior Indian Air Force officer, posted at the Air Head Quarters in New Delhi, was taken into custody on Wednesday as he allegedly passed on classified information to a woman.

According to a media reports, he befriended the woman on Facebook and shared the information through Whatsapp.

He has been detained on charge of spying, sources said. As per a source, during a routine counter intelligence surveillance carried out by the IAF’s Central Security and Investigation Team, the officer, who is a group captain, was found indulging in “unwanted activities through unauthorised electronic devices”.

The case, said the source, was of “honey trapping” after the officer is said to have befriended a woman on Facebook.

In the latest developments, the officials are trying to find out how much data has been leaked and if others have been involved in the information leakage.

The services have a strict code on engaging on social media, which restricts soldiers from sharing their identity, rank, posting and other professional details.

The restrictions include posting pictures in uniform.

In December, 2015, a dismissed IAF official was arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly passing on information to intelligence operatives suspected to be backed by Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).