Journalist was going to send China info on current troop deployment at LAC, Delhi Police says

Rajeev Sharma had given China info on defence buys, Army movement, Dalai Lama since 2016, in exchange for luxury holidays. He earned over Rs 40 lakh in last 1.5 years, police says.

(From L-R) Freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, Chinese woman Quing Shi and Nepali national Sher Singh. The three were arrested by the Delhi Police under the Official Secrets Act.

New Delhi: Freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, who was arrested on 14 September under the Official Secrets Act, had been passing sensitive information to China in exchange for hefty amounts of money since 2016, Delhi Police claimed Saturday.

According to police, Sharma was found to be in possession of some classified defence-related documents, documents on foreign policy, the Dalai Lama, Army movement and positioning on the India-China border.

“Sharma was passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence for which he was receiving money through different hawala channels,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said Saturday.

“Sharma had access in various ministries and was a part of the media circle with good contacts and so had access to a lot of information, which he passed on to China for money,” he added.

A police source said, “During questioning, Sharma disclosed that he was about to send critical information on the current India-China stand-off along with secret documents to his handlers in China.

“He had collected some documents and critical information to be passed on. He disclosed that he was about to send these recovered secret documents to his handlers in exchange for money,” Yadav said.

Investigation also revealed that Sharma, who was in regular touch with agents in China, earned Rs 45-50 lakh from this channel in the last one and a half year and often charged US $500 to $1,000 (Rs 74,000 approximately) along with luxury holidays for a single input or document, police sources said.

A joint team of a “central security agency” and the Military Intelligence are now questioning Sharma. During questioning, he will also be confronted with two of his alleged associates from China and Nepal along with the evidence recovered from his residence, source said.

According to the police, a couple — a Chinese woman, Quing Shi, and a Nepali national, Sher Singh — were paying Sharma large amounts of money in exchange for sensitive information, including documents for the “Chinese intelligence”. The two were arrested Saturday morning.

Police have booked Sharma and two of his associates under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), Yadav confirmed.

During a search conducted at Sharma’s residence on 14 September, the police claimed to have recovered 12 mobile phones, laptops, sensitive defence documents including some satellite images and maps, a few ATM cards including Chinese cards.

Money routed through pharmaceutical companies

According to police, funds were being routed through two Mahipalpur-based shell companies — MZ Pharmacy and MZ Malls.

The companies, police said, were being operated by “foreign intelligence” to transfer funds to Sharma.

“Chinese nationals namely Jhang Chang and his wife Chang-li-lia were running the companies MZ Pharmacy and MZ Malls under fake names Suraj and Usha. They are both presently in China and on their behalf, Qing Shi and Sher Singh (now arrested) were made directors,” Yadav said.

According to the police source, these companies, on paper, used to export medicines to China and the money that came in exchange was used to pay agents in India.

The police have accessed records and bank account details of those companies for further investigation.

How did Sharma come in contact with Chinese intelligence?

From 2010 to 2014, Sharma wrote a weekly column for Global Times, a leading English daily backed by the Chinese government.

After reading those columns, one Michael, an intelligence agent from China’s Kunming city, contacted Sharma in 2016 through his LinkedIn account and invited him to Kunming for an interview in a Chinese media company, Delhi Police claimed. LinkedIn is a networking and hiring platform.

“The entire trip was funded by Michael. During the meeting, Michael and his junior Xou asked Rajeev Sharma to provide inputs on various aspects of India-China relations,” Yadav said.

“It is then that Sharma understood that he was being asked to pass on sensitive information in exchange for money and he fell for it,” Yadav said.

Leaked information on Doklam

According to the police, Sharma was in contact with Michael and Xou between 2016-2018.

Sharma was allegedly tasked to provide information and inputs on Indian deployment on Bhutan-Sikkim-China tri-junction, including Doklam, the pattern of India-Myanmar military co-operation, and India-China boundary issue, which he did on a frequent basis, police claimed.

“Subsequently, Rajeev Sharma had meetings with Michael and Xou in Laos and Maldives once each and gave briefings on the above-mentioned topics. Besides these visits, Rajeev Sharma was also in contact with Michael and Xou through e-mail and social media,” Yadav said.

China visits

According to the police, in January, 2019, Sharma came in contact with one George, also based in Kunming. He then visited Kunming via Kathmandu and met George.

“George was introduced as a General Manager of a Chinese Media Company. During the meeting, George asked Sharma to write and inform him about Dalai Lama-related issues. For this Sharma was offered $500 per article, information,” Yadav said.

“George told Rajeev Sharma that they will send him money through his company’s sister concern based in Mahipalpur, Delhi ,being operated by a Chinese lady Qing,” he added.

Sharma had further meetings with George in Malaysia and again in Kunming City, China, police said.