Chandipur: A Crime Branch team Thursday arrived at Chandipur police station to investigate into the sensitive DRDO espionage case. The team led by additional SP Prashant Bisoyi will also discuss with the district police regarding their investigation progressed so far.
On charges of espionage at the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), four contractual employees were arrested September 14. They have been identified as Hemant Mistry, who worked as a DG operator, Basant Behera, Tulu Behera and Sheikh Mustaq. It is alleged that they had connections with a spying woman who had been luring the quartet to leak information about the activities at the missile test facility.
During interrogation, they admitted having in touch with a woman from Uttar Pradesh but refuted the espionage allegation.
Informing that the accused were produced before the court of sub-divisional judicial magistrate in Balasore Wednesday, the police said their social media accounts including Facebook and WhatsApp are being investigated.
Notably, a contractual cameraman named Ishwar Chandra Behera was arrested in February 2015 on the charge of leaking secrets to Pakistani intelligence agency ISI. He was sentenced to life imprisonment February 11, 2021.
With the Crime Branch team having started investigation, people expect the truth will come out at the earliest.
PNN
