CBI files charge sheet against journalist, ex-Navy commander in spying case

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 document related to Indian defence establishments

PTI, New Delhi, 12.07.23 : The CBI on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against freelance journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi and former Navy commander Ashish Pathak for the alleged clandestine procurement of sensitive defence-related information and sharing it with foreign intelligence agencies, officials said.

In its charge sheet filed before a special court here, the CBI has named Raghuvanshi and Pathak as accused in the alleged violation of the Official Secrets Act and related offences, they said.

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," a CBI spokesperson had said after the case was registered.

The CBI took over the probe in May from the Delhi Police's Special Cell which was tracking Raghuvanshi since September last year.

According to the central probe agency, Raghuvanshi and his kinsfolk purportedly received Rs 3 crore originating from foreign shores.

The Delhi Police's Special Cell had received input through intelligence agencies that some Indian journalists were engaged in the procurement and transmission of information to foreign agencies which had the potential to "spoil" India's relations with friendly nations.

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 said.

The CBI took over the case on the home ministry's directions, officials said.

After meticulous groundwork and surveillance, the CBI on May 16 conducted raids at the premises of Raghuvanshi and other suspects at 15 locations in Delhi-NCR and Jaipur.

"The CBI has seized 48 electronic devices, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, hard disks, and pen drives, belonging to the FIR named accused and others associated with the said accused," the spokesperson had said.

Many incriminating documents relating to Indian defence establishments have also been seized, he had said.

"The data stored in cloud-based accounts, e-mails and social media accounts belonging to the accused and others have also been recovered by digital forensic experts of the CBI," the spokesperson had said.

"The scrutiny of devices recovered so far from the possession of the accused also revealed that he was allegedly collecting confidential information related to India's defence procurement from different sources.

"He was in contact with several foreign entities/agents/persons and he had entered into contracts/agreements with several foreign entities for sharing of confidential information. It was also alleged that the accused and his family members had received a substantial amount from foreign sources," he had said.