Two more sentenced to imprisonment in Vizag Navy spying case

Visakhapatnam, Dec 15 (IANS) A National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court here on Monday sentenced two more accused to imprisonment in the Pakistan-linked Visakhapatnam Navy spying case.

The two accused convicted are Somnath Sanjay Ikade of Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district and Sonu Kumar of Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district.

They were arrested in December 2019 from Karwar (Karnataka) and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) respectively.

According to the NIA, each of them has been sentenced to Simple Imprisonment (SI) of five years, 11 months and 15 days under each of Section 18 of UA(P) Act and Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act.

The Special Court at Visakhapatnam has also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on the duo, who will have to undergo one-year additional simple imprisonment in case of default in payment of the fine.

This takes the total number of convictions in the case so far to 10.

Trial is continuing against the remaining five accused arrested by NIA in the case.

Last month, the court sentenced Kalavalapalli Konda Babu from Visakhapatnam district (Andhra Pradesh) and Aviansh Somal from Kangra district (Himachal Pradesh) to five years and 10 months of simple imprisonment each under Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act.

According to the NIA, the two men were arrested in December 2019 from Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Karwar (Karnataka), respectively.

Investigations revealed that they had been in touch with foreign intelligence operatives via social media and messaging platforms and had shared sensitive details related to Indian defence establishments.

The case, which NIA took over from the Andhra Pradesh Police’s Intelligence Department at the Counter Intelligence Police Station in Vijayawada in December 2019, relates to spying at vital installations and Indian Navy establishments by foreign spies/agents.

In June 2020, NIA had charge sheeted 14 accused persons, followed by a supplementary charge sheet against one more accused person in March 2021.

Investigations are continuing as part of NIA’s efforts to expose the full conspiracy behind the espionage, that was intended to disrupt India’s unity, integrity, security and sovereignty.

ms/khz