New Delhi, May 17, 2023 (PPI-OT): Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two people, including freelance defence journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi, and his associate identified as former Navy Commander Ashish Pathak, in espionage case. The CBI conducted searches in 12 locations in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Jaipur in connection with the case. A media report quoting a source said that initially the Delhi Police had lodged an FIR against Vivik Raghuvanshi, and the investigation was later transferred to the CBI, which filed a fresh case against him and his associates. “After conducting raids and collecting evidence against him, Raghuvanshi was arrested on Tuesday night. His associate was also arrested,” added the source.
The CBI spokesperson in a statement said, “On May 9, CBI lodged an FIR against Vivek Raghuvanshi on the allegations that he was involved in the illegal collection of sensitive information including the minute details of the DRDO (Defence Research Development Organisation) defence projects and their progress, sensitive details about the future procurement of Indian armed forces which reveal the strategic preparedness of country’s classified communications/information relating to national security, details of the strategic and diplomatic talks of India with our friendly countries. After collecting them, he was sharing such classified information with the intelligence agencies of foreign countries.”
Raghuvanshi writes for Defense News – an American defence news website, which also covers politics, business, and technology. Defense News mentions Raghuvanshi’s name in its editorial contact list as its India correspondent for defence news. On LinkedIn, Raghuvanshi says he is the India Bureau Chief at Defense News with a reporting experience of 32 and half years. He joined Twitter in 2015, but there has been no activity on his account since 2018.
In September 2019, the Delhi Police had arrested freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma for alleged espionage at the behest of China. In 2021, he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged money laundering.
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