Journalist and ex-navy commander shared defence information with foreign intel agencies, held by CBI

They have been accused of sharing sensitive information related to national security and details of the country's strategic and diplomatic talks with foreign intelligence agencies.

Jaipur: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a freelance journalist and a former Navy commander on charges of allegedly sharing information related to the country's defence projects and details of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to foreign intelligence agencies. They were presented before a court in Delhi and have been remanded to CBI custody for six days.

In a press statement issued by the CBI, it has stated that the two have been arrested under section 3 (spying) of the Official Secrets Act and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code. The journalist and his associate, the former Navy commandar, who is now working with a private company, were found to possess secret documents related to Indian defence establishments, the CBI statement read.

The CBI had registered a case on December 9, 2022 in connection with unauthorised collection of sensitive information including DRDO project details and their progress as well as details of future purchases of the Indian Armed Forces and other sensitive information.

The CBI said search operations were conducted at around 15 locations in Delhi-NCR and Jaipur. During which, the agency had seized 48 electronic devices including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, hard disks and pen drives from both the accused and their relatives. This apart, several sensitive documents in connection with the Indian defence establishments were also seized. The CBI's forensic experts have recovered data stored in cloud based accounts, emails and social media accounts of both the accused and those associated with them.

Analysing the recovered devices has revealed that the accused were collecting confidential information and was in contact with many foreign organisations, their agents and people associated with these organizations as well as entered into contracts with them. Also the accused and his family members had allegedly got money from foreign sources, CBI said.