Published Oct 06, 2026 | 3:43 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 06, 2026 | 3:43 PM
Police said 16 more suspects, including 12 naval personnel, are under investigation.
Synopsis: The Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell has arrested civilian contract driver Annam Sai Varaprasad for alleged espionage, days after Navy sailor Pradeep Mukherjee was arrested in Coimbatore for allegedly sharing sensitive information about Naval and defence establishments with a Pakistan-based intelligence operative. Police said 16 more suspects, including 12 naval personnel, are under investigation.
The Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell has arrested Annam Sai Varaprasad, a civilian contract driver engaged for Naval officers in Visakhapatnam, for alleged espionage, days after an Indian Navy sailor deployed at the Eastern Naval Command was arrested for passing sensitive information related to the Navy to an enemy country.
Police said 16 more suspects, including 12 naval personnel, are under investigation for allegedly sharing sensitive information about Naval and defence establishments with a Pakistan-based intelligence operative.
Varaprasad was arrested in Visakhapatnam. The police allege that he shared sensitive and classified information concerning Naval and defence establishments with a Pakistan-based intelligence operative and received money in return.
He was remanded in judicial custody until 14 October and is lodged in the District Jail, Visakhapatnam.
The sailor, Pradeep Mukherjee, 31, a native of West Bengal, was arrested at INS Agrani, the Indian Navy’s leadership training establishment in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, where he had been attending a management development course for the past week.
He is accused of sharing an OTP required to activate a WhatsApp account by a Pakistan Intelligence Operative, communicating with PIOs and sharing sensitive information concerning Naval and defence establishments.
After obtaining a transit warrant from a local court in Coimbatore, Counter Intelligence officials produced him before the jurisdictional court in Vijayawada. He was remanded in judicial custody until 14 October and is lodged in the District Jail, Vijayawada.
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The arrests followed a coordinated operation across 10 States and Union Territories on 1 October, comprising 12 teams deployed across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.
The teams worked with the respective State ATS units, Naval officials and local police. Electronic devices were seized from suspects following due legal procedures.
The Counter Intelligence Police Station in Vijayawada registered Crime No. 01/2026 on 2 September, based on “credible information” about the alleged espionage network.
The case was registered under Sections 61(2), 147 and 148 read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; and Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
The suspects allegedly collected and shared sensitive and classified information relating to defence establishments in Visakhapatnam and other parts of the country through encrypted communication channels, police said.
The police have seized electronic devices from the suspects as part of the investigation. They have not disclosed the contents of the devices or the specific nature and extent of the classified information allegedly shared.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
