KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a resident of Kochi in connection with an espionage case linked to Visakhapatnam. The arrested is P A Abhilash, also known as Muthu, from Pizhala, Kadamakudy, near Kochi. Abhilash was taken into custody by the NIA Kochi unit on Tuesday and handed over to its Hyderabad unit, which is investigating the case.
Abhilash worked at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) and was previously questioned by the NIA in August 2024, along with another CSL employee, following a search on the CSL premises. During the investigation, the NIA seized mobile phone numbers and examined their social media accounts.
A source said that apart from Abhilash, two other persons were arrested by the NIA -- Vehtan Laxman Tandel from Karwar, Karnataka, and Akshay Ravi Naik from Uttara Kannada, Karnataka. They were employees at the Karwar naval base and they allegedly shared information about the defence installation with Pakistani intelligence operatives.
The NIA investigation revealed that Abhilash also allegedly shared sensitive information about ships with those operating fake social media accounts. In 2021, the Andhra Pradesh Counter Intelligence Cell registered a case against a person named Deepak, who allegedly leaked sensitive defence-related information to foreign intelligence operatives (FIO)in Pakistan. It is suspected that the accused were honey-trapped via social media platforms to divulge sensitive defence information, including photographs. The NIA has already filed a chargesheet in the case.
In December 2023, the Kochi City police arrested a Manjeri native, a contract employee at CSL, for sharing information and photographs of naval ships with an FIO operating a bogus social media account under the name Angel Payal.
The investigation revealed that foreign intelligence operatives used similar fake social media profiles to trap employees working at sensitive defence establishments across the country.
In 2021, an Afghan national was arrested for working at CSL under a fake identity. In 2019, Sumit Kumar Singh from Bihar and Daya Ram from Rajasthan were arrested by the NIA for stealing critical computer components from India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier -- INS Vikrant -- while it was being built at CSL.