BEL engineer in Bengaluru caught leaking information to Pakistan agents
BENGALURU: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru, on Thursday reportedly placed under suspension Deeparaj Chandra, 36, an engineer with its Product Development and Innovation Centre (PDIC) for leaking critical defence-related information to some operatives in Pakistan.
His digital gadgets have been sent to the defence laboratory for in-depth analysis using Cloud Investigation and Response Automation, a technology that ‘leverages advanced analytics, AI, and automation to enhance the detection, investigation, and response to security incidents within cloud environments, enabling organisations to proactively detect and respond to threats.’
He may be held based on the digital forensic report. Chandra has reportedly been in touch with some Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIO) for the last couple of years.
Under the garb of a woman, they befriended him online and enticed him to share sensitive information on defence operating, communication systems, details on machinery, security apparatus production systems, office layouts, and on some senior officials with the PIOs.
He was paid in Bitcoins worth around Rs 25,000, sources said.
“Chandra and PIOs shared a common email account and password to escape detection. He would upload information in the draft folder, which was accessed by the enemies....,” sources claimed.
‘Chandra reportedly carried pen drives to workplace’
"On occasions, Chandra reportedly carried pen drives to the workplace, which is prohibited,” the sources claimed. He was a bachelor when he got in touch with the PIOs. He got married recently, they said.
According to sources, Chandra, who hails from Ghaziabad in UP, was netted in by the Military Intelligence (MI). Based on the inputs from MI, BEL constituted a fact-finding committee.
”He was suspended on Thursday morning and is being interrogated by the fact-finding committee, MI, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and State Intelligence (SI),” the sources said.