CBI arrests freelance journalist, former Navy commander in case of alleged spying

The agency has booked Raghuvanshi and former Navy commander Ashish Pathak under Section 3 (spying) of the Official Secrets Act and with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

New Delhi: CBI has arrested a freelance journalist and a former Navy commander for allegedly collecting sensitive information related to the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and the army, and sharing them with intelligence agencies of foreign countries, officials said on Wednesday.

Following an FIR against Vivek Raghuvanshi, CBI on Tuesday conducted searches on premises linked to the freelance journalist, listed as India correspondent of a US-based portal on defence and strategic affairs on its website, and people close to him at 12 places in Jaipur and National Capital Region (NCR), the officials said.

The agency has booked Raghuvanshi and former Navy commander Ashish Pathak under Section 3 (spying) of the Official Secrets Act and with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. Several sensitive documents were recovered during the searches and sent for legal scrutiny, officials added.

He was also collecting details of future procurement plans of the Indian armed forces which could have adversely affected the country’s strategic preparedness, the agency alleged. However, Pathak's role in this case was not specified by the agency.

“It is alleged that he collected and passed on sensitive details about the future procurement of Indian armed forces which reveal the strategic preparedness of the country besides classified communications and information relating to national security, details of the strategic and diplomatic talks of India with our friendly countries and sharing such classified information with intelligence agencies of foreign countries,” the CBI spokesperson said. (PTI)