Two UP natives held in Karnataka for leaking Indian Navy vessel secrets, suspected link to Pakistan

UDUPI : The Udupi police on Thursday arrested two individuals from Uttar Pradesh, who were allegedly sharing confidential information pertaining to Indian Navy vessels, to unknown persons in Pakistan. The arrested individuals are Rohit (29) and Santri (37) both of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh. While Rohit is a contract employee of Udupi Cochin Shipyard in Malpe, Santri worked on contract basis for Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, Kerala. Udupi SP Hariram Shankar told reporters here on Friday that based on a complaint filed by the CEO of Udupi Cochin Shipyard, Malpe, on Thursday Malpe police registered a case under section 152 of the BNS and sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. The police then arrested the accused Rohit and Santri, who are diploma holders. Udupi Cochin Shipyard, in Malpe, is an institution under the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. This institution has a subcontract with a company named M/S Shushma Marine Private Limited. Rohit and Santri were recruited by this company to work as insulators. Earlier, Rohit worked at Cochin Shipyard Limited, in Kochi where ships related to the Indian Navy are constructed and repaired, SP said. While working in Kerala, Rohit illegally shared, via WhatsApp, confidential details like repair schedule about ships related to the Indian Navy and gained unlawful benefits. Even after coming to Cochin Shipyard Limited at Malpe, he continued to obtain information from his friend in Kochi and again shared it through WhatsApp with an unauthorised person thereby engaging in activities that could endanger the sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India and pose a threat to internal security the SP said. Responding to a query, the SP said that through discussions with other agencies, it is likely that they might have shared the information with Pakistan. It is suspected that the duo have been sharing information for the past 18 months. Currently, Udupi police are handling the case. However, generally, in cases where the national security aspect is involved, national investigation agencies also take it up. The accused have been produced before a court, which has remanded them to judicial custody until December 3. The digital devices used by the accused have been seized, he added. The SP concluded by remarking that the duo received money multiple times and their custody will be sought by the police on Saturday.