Two more accused have been sentenced to Simple Imprisonment (SI) in the Pakistan-linked Visakhapatnam Navy espionage case by a special NIA court.
The NIA court at Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) has sentenced Kalavalapalli Konda Babu of the Visakhapatnam district and Aviansh Somal of the Kangra district (Himachal Pradesh) to five years and 10 months of SI under sections 18 of UA(P) Act and section 3 of Official Secrets Act, respectively. It has also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each, in the event of default of payment the accused persons will have to undergo an additional one-year SI in the case.
With this, a total of six accused have so far been convicted and sentenced in the case, relating to spying at vital installations and Indian Navy establishments by foreign spies/agents with the intent to threaten its unity, integrity, security and sovereignty.
The duo were arrested in December 2019 from Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Karwar (Karnataka), respectively in the case RC-05/2019/NIA/HYD. NIA investigations revealed that they were in touch with foreign intelligence agencies through WhatsApp, and were involved in sharing of sensitive and classified information related to Indian Defense establishments, deployments etc.
As per investigations, both the men had initially come in contact with Pakistan intelligence agents through Facebook . They had received monetary benefits in lieu of secret and classified information from Pakistani agents through Abdul Rehman, Haroon Lakdawala, Shaista Qaiser and Imran Giteli, who were convicted in the case earlier this year. The four convicts were found to have deposited various amounts into the accounts of accused persons on the directions of Pak Intelligence Agents as part of the espionage conspiracy.
The NIA, which took over the investigation from the Counter Intelligence Police Station, Intelligence Department, Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh Police) in December 2019, arrested a total of 15 accused persons over the years. In June 2020, the agency had chargesheeted 14 accused persons, followed by a supplementary chargesheet against one more accused person in March 2021.
Further investigation and trial against other accused persons in the case is continuing.