New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case of espionage under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, against journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi for allegedly leaking sensitive information related to India’s defence projects and procurement to the intelligence agencies of multiple foreign countries.
Raghuvanshi works with a news website and newspaper called Defense News. This is published by the US-based Sightline Media Group, which claims to be the world’s leading publisher of military and government news. Sightline is owned by US-based private equity firm Regent.
ThePrint tried to reach Raghuvanshi for comment via telephone but was unable to get through, and also reached Defense News via email. This report will be updated if and when they respond.
According to a CBI officer, Raghuvanshi collected “sensitive information” from several sources in the defence establishment, including the defence ministry and the offices of different branches of the armed forces, and then leaked this to foreign agencies.
“He collected information related to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and future procurements of the Indian armed forces. He even accessed the minutes of the meeting at DRDO and information on their projects, including their progress,” a source in the CBI said.
Raghuvanshi is also alleged to have collected sensitive information related to India’s diplomatic and strategic discussions with friendly countries, the source said.
“He was not just collecting all this information in the guise of being a journalist but also leaking all this sensitive information to intelligence agencies of several foreign countries,” the source added.
The CBI Tuesday carried out raids at 12 locations in Delhi, NCR, Gurugram and Jaipur and recovered several allegedly incriminating documents.
“Raids were conducted at 12 locations in Delhi NCR and Jaipur from where he functioned and we have recovered documents, files that were marked top secret. These are documents that have details of important projects and are of strategic importance. The documents are being analysed,” the source said.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)