Udupi, Nov 21 (IANS) Karnataka Police have arrested two persons for allegedly passing sensitive Indian Navy intelligence to Pakistan through WhatsApp and Facebook in exchange for money.

The accused were employed at the Cochin Shipyard, and Udupi police arrested them, officials said on Friday.

The case was registered based on a complaint filed by the CEO of Cochin Shipyard at the Malpe police station. The accused have been booked under Section 152 of the BNS and Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act (OSA).

The accused have been identified as 20-year-old Rohit and 37-year-old Santri, both residents of Sultanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. They were arrested on Thursday, and a local court has remanded them to judicial custody till December 3.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Udupi SP Hariram Shankar said the accused would be taken into police custody on November 22.

The investigation was conducted by Assistant Police Commissioner Harsha Priyamvada and Malpe Station Sub-Inspector D. Anil Kumar.

Acting on a tip-off, the special police team traced both accused staying together in a room in Malpe and arrested them. The case is significant from the perspective of national security, and the probe has been intensified to determine whether others are involved, the SP said.

According to preliminary investigations, Rohit is the key accused. He had been working as an insulator at the Cochin Shipyard unit in Malpe for the past six months.

Rohit obtained a confidential list of Indian Navy ships, their identification numbers, and other classified details from Santri, who is currently employed at the Cochin Shipyard.

The investigation has revealed that the secret information was shared with Pakistan and possibly other countries. The probe into this angle is ongoing, the SP added.

SP Hariram Shankar further stated that the accused received large sums of money in exchange for the information. It is suspected that they had been passing information related to ports under the central government, ships, and shipyard operations in Cochin, Kerala, and its Malpe branch in Karnataka for over one and a half years.

The investigation has also revealed that Rohit earned substantial amounts while working at the Cochin Shipyard in Kerala by selling information such as ship lists, identification numbers, and other details.

Indian Navy vessels are built at the shipyard’s Kerala facility, while the Malpe unit in Karnataka manufactures ships for private parties and international clients.

Rohit was transferred to Malpe six months ago. Even after his transfer, he continued to obtain information from his associate, Santri, and passed it on through WhatsApp and Facebook.

SP Hariram Shankar said the accused have jeopardised the nation’s integrity and sovereignty and posed a threat to internal security.

–IANS

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