Indian Navy Sailor Arrested Over Alleged Leak Of Sensitive Naval Data To Pakistani Operative

A 31-year-old Indian Navy sailor has been arrested in Coimbatore on charges of disclosing classified information of the Navy to an intelligence agent of Pakistan through a “honey trap” set up via social media platforms.

Pradeep Mukherjee, hailing from the state of West Bengal, was arrested on October 3 at INS Agrani, a naval training center located in Coimbatore, while undergoing a management development program.

He was arrested by the Counter Intelligence (CI) wing of the Andhra Pradesh police force, which had been investigating a case of suspicious digital transactions involving him.

The authorities believe that Pradeep disclosed information regarding the strategic naval assets, movements of fleets, and the overall functioning of the Visakhapatnam naval base.

An investigation is currently underway to determine the exact nature and volume of the information transferred by him. According to investigators, Mukherjee was contacted several months ago by a woman who was allegedly working as a Pakistani intelligence operative.

The contact reportedly began on social media and developed into a relationship that investigators believe was used to obtain sensitive information from the sailor.

Sources said the alleged Pakistani operative gradually befriended Mukherjee before seeking details concerning strategic naval assets, fleet movements and the operational setup of the Visakhapatnam naval base.

Mukherjee had joined the Indian Navy in 2014 as a sailor at Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam.

The case has been investigated by the Counter Intelligence Unit of Andhra Pradesh which is responsible for handling cases of cross-border espionage, terror threats, and other security-sensitive issues.

Mukherjee was later put under electronic surveillance. Once his involvement in leaking sensitive information was confirmed, the Counter Intelligence agency sought clearance from naval authorities to arrest him.

A special CI team reached INS Agrani in Coimbatore and arrested Mukherjee. The local police department was notified officially regarding his arrest.

According to sources, Mukherjee had come to INS Agrani about a week ago to take part in the management development program.

INS Agrani, which operates in Red Fields, Coimbatore, is a leadership training institute of the navy that trains personnel of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and allied navies of other countries.

His bank transactions are also being investigated to check whether he had been offered or was paid money for the information. The investigation is trying to trace any hawala payments or online banking payments made to him, said sources.

Following his arrest, Mukherjee appeared before a local magistrate for the issue of a transit warrant by which he was taken into custody at the Counter Intelligence office in Vijayawada for custodial interrogation.

An FIR has been registered in Vijayawada.

The Eastern Naval Command has not issued a detailed official statement on the case.

Commander Sujith Reddy, Chief Public Relations Officer of Eastern Naval Command, told ThePrint that Mukherjee was “under the ENC sometime ago”.

He further stated that the case does not come within the jurisdiction of the Eastern Naval Command and an official statement could be given after the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam.

The Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence unit continues to investigate the case.

References: news18, theprint