Udupi police have arrested two men from Uttar Pradesh for allegedly sharing sensitive information about Indian Navy ships with contacts in Pakistan. The accused, Rohit (29) and Santri (37) from Sultanpur district, were taken into custody from a room in Udupi on November 20 and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said Rohit had previously worked at Kochi Shipyard and moved to Udupi six months ago, while Santri was employed at Kochi Shipyard. Both worked as contractual insulators for Shushma Marine Private Limited, a subcontractor of Cochin Shipyard Limited.
According to the police, Rohit had been illegally sharing classified information about Indian Navy ships via WhatsApp and Facebook for the past 18 months. After moving to Udupi, he allegedly continued sharing details about naval ships being built there, including information obtained from Santri. The duo are accused of endangering India’s sovereignty and internal security.
The complaint was lodged by the CEO of Udupi Cochin Shipyard with Malpe police on November 19, leading to the registration of a case under Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act. A team led by Assistant Superintendent of Police Harsha Priyamvada and PSI D. Anil Kumar carried out the arrests.
SP Shankar stated that Rohit appeared to be the main accused, having allegedly received money multiple times for sharing classified information. The police plan to seek custody of the two on November 22 and are investigating possible links to other individuals. The company that employed them will also be questioned, with national investigation agencies expected to join the probe in the coming days.
