The CBI has arrested a Canada-based businessman in connection with a Defence espionage case in which a journalist and a former Navy Commander were held in May.
Rahul Gangal, a businessman who had taken Permanent Residency in Canada in 2019, was arrested in the case when he landed here on Monday, officials said.
A designated CBI Court has granted four days of custody of the arrested accused to the CBI for custodial interrogation, they said.
The agency had earlier arrested freelance journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi and former Navy commander Ashish Pathak for allegedly collecting sensitive information on defence matters and passing them on to foreign intelligence agencies In its charge sheet filed before a special court here last month, the CBI had named Raghuvanshi and Pathak as accused in the alleged violation of the Official Secrets Act and related offences. Raghuvanshi, who was listed as India correspondent of a US-based portal on defence and strategic affairs on its website, and Pathak were arrested on May 16.
“It was alleged that the accused (Raghuvanshi) and his associate (Pathak) who is presently working with a (private) firm, were in possession of classified secret documents related to Indian defence establishments,” the CBI had said after the registration of the case earlier this year.
In May, the CBI took over the probe from the Delhi Police’s Special Cell which was tracking Raghuvanshi since September last year. The CBI took over the case following a directive from the Union Home Ministry. Raghuvanshi and his kinsfolk purportedly received Rs 3 crore originating from foreign shores, according to the CBI.
Based on the information procured by the Special Cell, it was posited that a journalist was surreptitiously amassing “sensitive information” regarding the “future procurement of the armed forces.
The information collected allegedly reveals the strategic preparedness of the country’s classified communication and national security besides details of strategic and diplomatic talks of India with friendly nations, the FIR had alleged.
On May 16, the CBI conducted searches at the premises of Raghuvanshi and other suspects at 15 locations Delhi-NCR and Jaipur.