From Mata Hari to Madhuri Gupta, history has been witness to women using sex as a bait. Did you know that men have been great honey traps too?
EVEN though ex-diplomat Madhuri Gupta’s name will go down in history as India’s deadliest female spy, the plump, middleaged, bespectacled single lady demolishes all romantic notions of a spy — a sexy woman in black, crimson lips, kohl-rimmed eyes, holding a cigarette in her bejewelled fingers. Madhuri Gupta also shatters the belief that it’s mostly men who fall for the ‘honey trap’. Investigations have revealed that Madhuri had an amorous affair with her Pakistani handler, with whom she shared information. That makes her a lady who’s been honey trapped, a rare case. “In the spy world, exploiting the amorous arts to dig up secret information is usually a woman’s domain,” says a senior IPS officer, who requests anonymity. “The trade name for this exercise is ‘honey trap’, a tactic which has seen the downfall of many mighty men who make the mistake of falling into the mesh of warm desires stirred by lady spies.”
From Mata Hari to Madhuri Gupta, it’s strongly believed that woman spies are used in honey traps because they are better than their male counterparts at gaining access to secret information. Not to forget that they are also masters in the game of passion and seduction. A senior doctor at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science, New Delhi, under condition of anonymity, says, “Women make better spies than men, because they are naturally gifted with strong intuitive powers. The world has seen several women spies. Delicate cases which require cunning, skill and tact are usually entrusted to women.”“Women’s powers of assessing a situation swiftly are better developed than a man’s,” says clinical psychologist Aruna Broota. “Women are also more honest, dedicated and obedient, hence a higher success rate.”
The oldest case of honey trapping in India is an interesting one. When Jawaharlal Nehru was the prime minister, an Indian diplomat was enticed by a Russian girl in Moscow. When the Russian secret agency KGB exposed pictures of the diplomat with the girl, Nehru just laughed it off, warning the young diplomat to be more careful in future!
There are many examples of Indian men falling for the charms of foreign honey traps. In May 2008, Manmohan Sharma, a senior RAW officer, posted in Beijing was called back to New Delhi for falling to the charms of a Chinese honey trap. It was alleged that Sharma was having an affair with his Chinese language teacher, whom Indian authorities suspected to be an informant of the Chinese government. In October 2007, another RAW officer Ravi Nair was called back from Hong Kong for his ‘friendship’ with a girl believed to be working for a Chinese spy agency. However, the most prominent case was that of K V Unnikrishnan, a RAW officer, who fell in love with an air hostess suspected to be an agent.
Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet attaché in London in the early 1960s, took up a mistress named Christine Keeler, a ’60s “good-time girl”, who was also the lover of the married British MP and Secretary of State for War John Profumo, who was then working on plans with the United States to station cruise missiles in Germany. When the scandal blew up, Ivanov was recalled to Moscow. Secrets are revealed not just during pillow talk. Sometimes an affair could lead to blackmail after incriminating evidence has been collected. Nothing is simple in the spying racket. Often those helping dole out secrets are used by their own countries to counter spy. They tread extremely dangerous territory and stand the chance of being let down and betrayed by either or even both sides!
More recently, Miss USA top 10 finalist Roxana Saberi, an American journalist of Iranian origin, was accused of spying in Iran for the US. In Russia, it was a blue-eyed model “Katya” who lured satirist Victor Shenderovich into her den. It came as a shock to Mr Shenderovich and the rest of the world when it was revealed that Katya was actually Ekaterina Gerasimova, who lured highprofile officials to spill important secrets during the act of sex!
It’s a world of lies and deceit… of crumpled beds, heartbroken spouses, explicit letters, and ruined lives. So, what entices a woman, where cases could lead to dangerous situations? Is it the thrill of the chase or is it the satisfaction of matching skill for skill with their male counterparts? According to Ashum Gupta, department of
psychology,
Delhi University,
“Even brilliant
men are known to
have lost their rational thinking powers with the promise of sex. Surging hormones take over and by the time the cobwebs are cleared, the damage is done! Maybe, society is more accepting of a man succumbing to the lure of seduction. But not so in the case of a woman.”
Then there are men who target vulnerable women officers. The East German secret police had a hugely successful department of ‘Romeo spies’ to seduce unsuspecting targets with access to secrets. A recurring problem, however, was that they tended to fall in love with their targets! The best traps are the vulnerable or those with a glad eye and a voracious sexual appetite. What are the prerequisites to succeed in the oldest trick in the book? Ashum Gupta of DU, says, “A sharp mind and keen eye. And sincerity, of course, because people trust you with their secrets.”
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