Espionage Case: Naveen Pal, an employee working in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been apprehended by the Ghaziabad police on charges of engaging in espionage.
The allegation against him involves the transmission of classified G-20 documents to a female friend he met online.
Authorities suspect that the woman may have lured him into sharing the documents via WhatsApp. Investigative agencies are currently looking into the possibility that the woman is an agent operating on behalf of Pakistan.
Multiple security and intelligence organisations, including the Intelligence Bureau, are involved in interrogating the accused individual.
Naveen, who resides in Bhim Nagar in the Crossing Republic area, has been taken into custody by the police near the Shani temple at 4 pm on Monday (July 10).
The arrest came after Sub-Inspector Prahlad Singh of Crossing Republic Police Station filed a case against Naveen under Section 3, 5, and 9 of the Government Secret Act of 1923, as well as Section 66F of the IT Act.
Naveen holds a 12th-grade education and is employed as an MTS (Multi-Tasking Staff) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
According to the police, a mobile device belonging to Naveen was seized, and during the investigation, documents associated with the Ministry of External Affairs and G-20 were discovered in the photo backup section of the device.
Notably, all of these documents were labeled as 'Secret.' Additionally, screenshots of certain documents were also found.
It was determined that Naveen had transmitted these photos via WhatsApp, with a number saved as “Anjali Calcutta”
During the preliminary investigation, it was uncovered that Naveen had initiated a friendship with a girl named Anjali on social media approximately two months ago.
Following their acquaintance, the two began conversing and eventually exchanged contact numbers. Anjali claimed to be a resident of Calcutta.
The police further disclosed that they examined Naveen's bank account history, revealing certain questionable transactions.
According to sources, Naveen had contact with the woman about 2 months ago. So far, about 85 thousand rupees have been credited in its bank account.
These findings strongly suggest that Naveen was receiving financial compensation in exchange for transmitting classified documents.
The police suspect that the alleged woman Anjali is not a resident of Kolkata, but she may also be associated with Pakistan or ISI.
DCP Shubham Patel said, “A case has been registered against the accused at Crossing Republic Police Station. Today (July 7), he will be sent to jail. The Ministry of External Affairs has been informed about this.
