The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested 37-year-old Giteli Imran, who is allegedly a key accused in the Visakhapatnam espionage case. Imran is a resident of Panchmahal, Godhra in Gujarat. According to the central investigation agency, Imran allegedly under the guise of a cross-border trader, was involved in recruiting agents for Pakistan-based spies to collect “sensitive” and “classified” information pertaining to the location and movements of Indian naval ships, submarines and other defence establishments.
Imran was arrested under Sections 120b (Criminal conspiracy) and 121 (Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) along with Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
“Investigation has revealed that the arrested accused Giteli Imran was associated with Pakistani spies/agents under the guise of cross-border cloth trade. As per the directions of Pakistan-based spies, he deposited money into the bank accounts of Indian Navy personnel at regular intervals in lieu of sensitive and classified data provided by them,” the NIA said in its statement.
In December 2019, the Andhra Pradesh police had arrested seven naval personnel for allegedly being involved in the espionage ring. Subsequently, the NIA took over the case.
As per the NIA, so far 14 persons have been arrested in the case and a charge sheet was filed on June 15.
The NIA said that the investigation revealed that few navy personnel came in contact with Pakistani agents through social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp and shared classified information for money. The money was deposited into their bank accounts through Indian associates of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the NIA said.
Earlier in May, the NIA arrested Mohammed Haroon Haji Lakdawala, a Mumbai resident, who too was allegedly pretending to be a cross-border trader. Using the profession as a cover, Lakdawala allegedly met the Pakistani handlers and facilitated payments for the Indian Navy personnel, the NIA said.