Visakhapatnam espionage case: NIA conducts pan-India searches at 16 places across 7 states

New Delhi, Aug 29
In a massive crackdown in the Pakistan-led Visakhapatnam espionage case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday searched multiple locations in seven states across India.
Extensive searches were conducted at 16 locations in Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana in the case related to the leakage of classified defence information through a Pakistani ISI espionage racket.
No arrests have been made so far in the matter, sources informed.
The premises searched by NIA teams were linked with suspects who had received money from Pakistan to undertake spying activities in India.
A total of 22 mobile phones and a host of sensitive documents were seized during the searches conducted by the NIA, which had, in July 2023, taken over the instant case, originally registered in January 2021 by the Counter Intelligence Cell, Andhra Pradesh.
The case involved leakage of sensitive vital information pertaining to the Indian Navy as part of an anti-India conspiracy hatched from across the border.
The NIA had July 19, 2023, filed a chargesheet against two accused, including an absconding Pakistani national, Meer Balaj Khan.
Investigations had revealed that Meer Balaj Khan, along with an arrested accused, Akash Solanki, had been involved in the espionage racket.
On November 6, 2023, the NIA had filed a supplementary chargesheet against two other accused persons, identified as Manmohan Surendra Panda and Alven. While Panda has been arrested, Alven, a Pakistani Intelligence Operative, is absconding.
In May 2024, the NIA filed its second supplementary chargesheet against one accused, Amaan Salim Shaikh, conspiring with Pakistan intelligence operatives.
Investigations in the high-profile case are continuing.