Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Nov 11: A Special NIA Court in Visakhapatnam has sentenced two more accused in the Pakistan-linked Navy espionage case, bringing the total number of convictions in the case to six.
According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the court sentenced Kalavalapalli Konda Babu from Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, and Aviansh Somal from Kangra district, Himachal Pradesh, to five years and ten months of simple imprisonment under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act.
Each convict was also fined ?5,000, with a one-year additional sentence to be served in case of default.
The case involves an espionage network that spied on Indian Navy establishments and shared classified information with foreign intelligence operatives, posing a threat to India’s national security.
Investigations revealed that the two accused were in contact with Pakistani intelligence agents through social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. They allegedly exchanged sensitive defence-related information for monetary benefits, routed through other accused intermediaries — Abdul Rehman, Haroon Lakdawala, Shaista Qaiser, and Imran Giteli — who were convicted earlier this year.
The NIA took over the case in December 2019 from Andhra Pradesh’s Counter-Intelligence Police and has since arrested 15 individuals. Fourteen were chargesheeted in June 2020, followed by one more in a supplementary chargesheet in March 2021.
The agency said the convictions mark another step in dismantling the espionage network operating against India’s naval security interests.