DRDO Research Official Arrested For Sharing Confidential Information With Pakistani Agent

According to Odisha Police, the 57-year-old DRDO official was posted at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district.

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New Delhi: A senior official of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was arrested on Friday for allegedly sharing confidential information related to India's defence sector with a Pakistani spy, news agency PTI reported.

According to Odisha Police, the 57-year-old DRDO official was posted at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district.

"A senior employee of Integrated Test Range -Chandipur has been arrested. He managed to transmit some sensitive information regarding missile tests to a foreign agent," PTI quoted Himansu Kumar Lal, the Inspector-General of Police (Eastern Range) as saying.

“The official was arrested on the basis of a complaint filed at the Chandipur police station,” he added.

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Notably, Chandipur has two DRDO test ranges -- PXE (Proof and Experimental Establishment) and Integrated Test Range. These are the two ranges where India evaluates the performances of its missiles, rockets and air-borne weapons.

According to Balasore's Superintendent of Police (SP) Sagarika Nath, the details of the information the DRDO official shared could be ascertained after a thorough interrogation.

A case has been filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120A and 120B (criminal conspiracy), besides the Official Secrets Act, police said, adding the official was allegedly sharing sensitive defence-related information with a Pakistani agent for "sexual as well as monetary gratification".

WhatsApp chats and objectionable photos and videos were found in his phone that was seized.

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Earlier in September 2021, five contractual employees of Integrated Test Range -Chandipur were arrested in another espionage case.

In a similar case in 2015, a contractual employee of Integrated Test Range -Chandipur was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2021 for sharing information with Pakistan's ISI.