Navy Sailor Held Over Alleged Defence Data Leak to Pakistani Operative

An Indian Navy sailor accused of transmitting classified maritime intelligence to a Pakistani operative was arrested in Coimbatore, with investigators examining the information allegedly shared and the circumstances surrounding the contact.

The Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence (CI) Cell arrested 31-year-old Pradeep Mukherjee on October 3 at INS Agrani, a naval leadership training facility in Coimbatore. A native of West Bengal, Mukherjee joined the Navy in 2014 and was posted with the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. He was attending a management development course at INS Agrani and had been at the facility for about a week.

According to officials, a female Pakistani intelligence operative contacted Mukherjee on social media several months ago. The alleged online relationship was subsequently used to obtain sensitive information concerning strategic naval assets, fleet movements and the operational framework of the Visakhapatnam naval base.

The CI Cell began investigating after detecting suspicious digital activity linked to Mukherjee. He was placed under surveillance before the arrest was carried out at INS Agrani after clearance from naval authorities. Following his arrest, he was produced before a magistrate and taken to Vijayawada for questioning.

Investigators are examining the nature and volume of the information allegedly transmitted by the sailor. They are also looking into financial transactions and whether other individuals or links are connected to the case. Officials have not publicly disclosed the identity of the alleged Pakistani operative or established the full extent of the information that may have been compromised.

The case is being investigated by the Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence unit, which handles matters involving cross-border espionage and terror-related threats. The probe is expected to establish how the alleged contact developed, what information was accessed or transmitted and whether any network was involved.

The arrest comes as investigators continue to assess the alleged security breach involving a serving personnel. Authorities have described the case in terms of allegations under investigation, and the extent of any classified information compromise remains to be determined.