Two More Convicted In Pakistan-Linked Navy Espionage Case, Says NIA Court

They were found guilty under the UAPA and the Official Secrets Act. This brings the total convictions to six in the case involving 15 arrests.

Two more individuals were convicted by an NIA court in the Visakhapatnam Navy espionage case.

Source : ANI

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A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has convicted two more individuals in the Visakhapatnam Navy espionage case linked to Pakistan’s intelligence network, which conspired to obtain classified information about the Indian Navy.

The NIA court in Visakhapatnam sentenced Kalvalpalli Konda Babu from Visakhapatnam and Aviansh Somal from Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, to five years and ten months of simple imprisonment. Both were found guilty under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act.

The court also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 each. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional one-year jail term.

With this verdict, a total of six accused have been convicted in the case so far. The espionage network was allegedly aimed at compromising India’s defence and national security by leaking sensitive information related to naval bases and strategic installations.

Konda Babu and Somal were arrested in December 2019, the former from Mumbai and the latter from Karnataka.

According to the NIA investigation, both were in contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives through WhatsApp and Facebook and had shared sensitive defence-related information in exchange for money.

The funds were reportedly routed through other accused, including Abdul Rahman, Haroon Lakhadwala, Shaista Kaiser, and Imran Geeteli, all of whom have already been convicted earlier this year.

The NIA took over the case from the Andhra Pradesh Police Intelligence Department in December 2019. So far, the agency has arrested 15 individuals in connection with the espionage network.

A charge sheet was filed against 14 accused in June 2020, followed by a supplementary charge sheet in March 2021 against another suspect.