New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday arrested a former Navy commander, Ashish Pathak, for helping a freelance journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi to get sensitive information related to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Earlier in the day, the journalist was also arrested for allegedly sharing classified information with intelligence agencies of foreign nations including Pakistan. The DRDO filed a complaint in the matter.
A CBI official said Raghuvanshi was involved in the illegal collection of sensitive information. "He collected minute details of the DRDO defence projects and their progress, sensitive details about the future procurement of Indian armed forces which reveal the strategic preparedness of the country's classified communications/ information relating to national security, details of the strategic and diplomatic talks of India with our friendly countries."
Pathak's role in the leak was not specified by the agency.
A case on the matter was registered on December 9, 2022, under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Both the journalist and the ex-Navy commander will be produced before a CBI court today. The central agency is likely to seek their custodial remand.
The CBI conducted 12 raids on the premises of the accused and people linked to them. Certain documents with sensitive information were recovered from Raghuvanshi.
"There are international ramifications to this probe. We have to find out what all data or information about defence projects had been shared," said an officer. The articles were contributed to a US-based news portal that focuses on defence and space manufacturing.