The number of people arrested in the case has gone up to eight and NIA is still probing the anti-India act. The three men now arrested allegedly collected and shared information about the naval bases in Karwar and Kochi with Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Published Feb 19, 2025 | 3:37 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 19, 2025 | 3:37 PM
The Eastern Naval Command is headquartered at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. (Indian Navy/Wikimedia Commons)
Synopsis: It has been alleged that Pakistani intelligence operatives funded the espionage through cryptocurrencies, and used escorts to honeytrap officials. With the latest three arrests, the NIA has so far picked up eight people in the high-profile espionage case, originally registered by Andhra Pradesh police’s Counter Intelligence Wing.
Three more men were arrested for leaking sensitive Indian defence information to Pakistan operatives, the National Investigation Agency said.
Identifying the accused as Vethan Laxman Tandel, Akshay Ravi Naik, and Abhilash PA, NIA said eight people have been arrested in the ISI-linked Vishakapatnam espionage case.
The accused allegedly sold information about the naval bases in Karwar, Karnataka, and Kochi, Kerala.
The NIA said while Tandel and Naik were arrested from Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, Abhilash was arrested from Kochi. They shared sensitive information to PIOs in exchange for money. Local police assisted the NIA in arresting the accused.
While Tandel resided at Karwar, Naik was living at Kallashwar, the NIA said. Abhilash hailed from Pizhala near Kadamakudy on Kochi’s outskirts. Indian Navy’s Southern Command is headquartered in Kochi.
The NIA has chargesheeted five persons, including two absconding Pakistani operatives. Another absconding PIO Alven, Manmohan Surendra Panda and Amaan Salim Sheikh were the others who were chargesheeted.
The federal anti-terror agency took over the probe in June 2023, two years after the Counter Intelligence Cell in Andhra Pradesh had registered the case under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 121 A (conspiring to commit certain offences against the state) of the IPC, sections 17 (punishment for raising funds for terrorist acts) and 18 (conspiracy) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and Section 3 (punishment for spying) of the Official Secrets Act.
Investigations reportedly revealed that that Pakistani national Meer Balaj Khan, along with Solanki, was involved in the espionage racket that leaked sensitive and vital information about the Indian Navy, as part of an anti-India conspiracy.
The probe into the espionage case began with the Andhra Police’s Counter Intelligence cell registering a case against a Haryana man, Deepak, and several other unidentified people. The case was booked after the suspects transferred money to Visakhapatnam, home to the navy’s Eastern Command.
The money trail led investigators to Solanki, who was working as an Electrical Artificer Radio Apprentice at the naval dockyard in Visakhapatnam, Panda and Sheikh, who allegedly honey trapped officers at the dockyard with the help of ISI-planted escorts.
The NIA took over the case after the Andhra Pradesh police suspected the involvement of foreign intelligence operatives.
The chargesheet filed before the NIA court in Vijayawada in July 2024, the probe agency said Solanki had confidential details of Indian warships and submarines, which he passed on to a Pakistani intelligence operative, who went by the name ‘Aditi Chouhan’.
It was reported that Khan funded Solanki through cryptocurrencies. Besides Khan, Alven, too, funded Solanki through crypto channels. Solanki hailed from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Sheikh, who was arrested from Mumbai on 20 November last, arranged SIM cards for Pakistani operatives.
Meanwhile, the NIA — which had inspected various locations in multiple states — is still probing the case.
