A senior engineer: from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Deep Raj Chandra, has been arrested on suspicion of leaking defense secrets to operatives in Pakistan. This arrest was the result of a coordinated operation involving multiple intelligence agencies — local, state, and military — right here in Bengaluru.

PDIC:

Chandra, who worked at BEL’s Product Development and Innovation Centre, is believed to have shared sensitive information about communication systems, radar technologies, and production methods. Reports suggest that he received payments through cryptocurrency channels and used encrypted apps to pass on the information. It seems that military intelligence got wind of his activities, prompting the Karnataka State Intelligence to step in and track him down.

Ghaziabad:

Now, to give you a bit of background, Deep Raj Chandra is originally from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh but was living in the Mattikere area of Bengaluru. As of now, we’re still waiting for more details, including an official statement from the central agencies involved.

Defense Sector:

For those unfamiliar, Bharat Electronics Limited is a major player in India’s defense sector. It’s an Indian public sector company focused on aerospace and defense electronics, based in Bengaluru. They specialize in advanced electronic products for both ground and air applications. Notably, BEL is one of the 16 public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Defence, and it has even been recognized with the Navratna status by the Indian government.

Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS):

Just the other day, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) made another significant arrest. A junior works manager at the Kanpur Ordnance Factory, Ravindra Kumar, was taken into custody for allegedly leaking classified information to a suspected Pakistani intelligence agent. This arrest took place on March 14 at the ATS headquarters in Lucknow.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two individuals:

Earlier, on February 18, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two individuals, Vetana Tandel and Akshay Naik, in connection with leaking sensitive information related to the Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka. These individuals were taken into custody after a team from Hyderabad traced them down. They had initially been questioned back in August 2024, along with another person named Sunil, but were let go at that time. However, the authorities kept a close watch on them.

PIO:

Interestingly, it emerged that these individuals might have been ensnared by Pakistani agencies through honey trapping—a tactic where a female Pakistani agent is said to have befriended them on Facebook to gather sensitive data. Allegedly, they exchanged photographs of the Karwar Naval Base and details about naval movements for money.

NIA arrested another individual: Their connections to espionage came to light after the NIA arrested another individual named Deepak and others in Hyderabad in 2023. Investigators found that money had been funneled into the accused’s bank accounts as compensation for their services. Vetana and Akshay were reportedly working on a contract basis with a company called Iron and Mercury in the Chandya region of Karwar, while Sunil had previously been a contract worker at the Sea Bird Naval Base, where he served as a driver.

As for the Naval Base Karwar or INS Kadamba, it’s a significant installation for the Indian Navy and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere once its expansion is complete. Both the Navy’s aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, are stationed there, and it boasts the nation’s first sealift facility—a unique system for docking and undocking ships and submarines.

So, it’s clear that the situation is quite serious, and we can expect more developments as the investigation continues.

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