Retired Captain sentenced for case related to Navy war room leak
NEW DELHI: A CBI Special Court has sentenced Captain Salam Singh Rathore (Retd.) to seven years rigorous punishment for his involvement in the 2005 Navy war room leak case. The other accused in the case, Commander Jarnail Singh Kalra (Retd.) has been acquitted.
Special CBI Judge S K Aggarwal handed down the jail term to Rathore for the offence of spying under the Official Secrets Act.
The judge convicted the accused under Section 3(1) C of the 1923 Official Secrets Act.
The court, while awarding the sentence, considered the submission of the prosecutor that several secret documents were recovered from the possession of Rathore which he could not account for.
The Navy war room case pertains to a separate investigation conducted by Air Force Intelligence about an Air Defence Directorate officer who was allegedly having an extra-marital relationship. The officer was put under electronic surveillance and a can of worms about laxity in matters of national security eventually opened.
Naval Intelligence was informed of the matter when Air Force Intelligence recovered a pen drive that contained documents related to India’s maritime preparedness and plans for the next 20 years. The leak was subsequently traced to the Maritime Operations Centre of the Directorate of Naval Operations in South Block, New Delhi.
The CBI mentioned a number of documents that had been 'leaked' from the Directorate of Naval Operations. These included details of Indian Navy's maritime operations, data on Sir Creek, and air defence vulnerabilities of the country.
The primary accused was retired Naval officer Ravi Shankaran, and arms dealer Abhishek Verma.
(With news agency inputs)
Special CBI Judge S K Aggarwal handed down the jail term to Rathore for the offence of spying under the Official Secrets Act.
The judge convicted the accused under Section 3(1) C of the 1923 Official Secrets Act.
The court, while awarding the sentence, considered the submission of the prosecutor that several secret documents were recovered from the possession of Rathore which he could not account for.
The Navy war room case pertains to a separate investigation conducted by Air Force Intelligence about an Air Defence Directorate officer who was allegedly having an extra-marital relationship. The officer was put under electronic surveillance and a can of worms about laxity in matters of national security eventually opened.
Naval Intelligence was informed of the matter when Air Force Intelligence recovered a pen drive that contained documents related to India’s maritime preparedness and plans for the next 20 years. The leak was subsequently traced to the Maritime Operations Centre of the Directorate of Naval Operations in South Block, New Delhi.
The CBI mentioned a number of documents that had been 'leaked' from the Directorate of Naval Operations. These included details of Indian Navy's maritime operations, data on Sir Creek, and air defence vulnerabilities of the country.
The primary accused was retired Naval officer Ravi Shankaran, and arms dealer Abhishek Verma.
(With news agency inputs)