Two people, including an Indian Navy staff stationed at the Visakhapatnam naval base arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police over the weekend, had direct links with Pakistan intelligence operatives (PIO) and passed on sensitive information to them, police said on Tuesday.
The two suspects were identified as Annam Sai Varaprasad, a civilian contract driver engaged for Naval officers and Pradeep Mukherjee, an Indian Navy employee attached to the Visakhapatnam naval base. The teams worked in coordination with the several anti-terrorism squads from the states, naval officials and the local police. Varaprasad, who was arrested in Visakhapatnam is charged with sharing sensitive and classified information relating to Naval and defence establishments with a Pakistan-based intelligence operative. Following his arrest in Coimbatore, the AP CIC team obtained a transit warrant from the local court. He is presently lodged in the district jail, Vijayawada.
The case was registered at the CIC police station in Vijayawada on September 2 and the suspects have been booked under various sections including the Official Secrets Act, Waging a War against India and Conspiring to Commit offences against the State under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). During the operation, investigators examined the alleged involvement of all 18 suspects and seized electronic gadgets from them following due legal procedures. He was subsequently brought to Vijayawada and produced before the jurisdictional court, which remanded him to judicial custody until October 14.
The two suspects allegedly collected and shared sensitive and classified information relating to defence establishments and strategic locations in Visakhapatnam and other parts of the country through encrypted communication channels, the state police’s counter intelligence cell (CIC) said in a statement. The police said based on prima facie evidence of involvement, Varaprasad and Mukherjee were arrested while the investigation into the remaining suspects is continuing.
