Defence espionage case: CBI arrests Canada-based Rahul Gangal, seizes incriminating documents
Rahul Gangal arrest: CBI on Tuesday arrested Canada-based NRI Rahul Gangal in the ongoing case related to defence espionage from Delhi. The CBI has been following Rahul Gangal's moves for several months, according to a CBI official.
The accused arrived in India last week after acquiring permanent residence status in Canada.
Following his arrival, his movements were traced, and his residence in Delhi was identified. Searches were undertaken at the accused's residence, resulting in the recovery of incriminating documents and digital devices. A scrutiny of these documents and devices reportedly showed his possession and distribution of incriminating secret documents with another accused (a journalist), according to an official.
The arrested accused appeared in court today in Delhi and was placed in police custody for four days.
An earlier investigation revealed that the accused had transmitted critical defence documents to another accused. (On May 17, 2023, a journalist was arrested in this case).
On December 9, 2022, the CBI registered the said case against an accused on allegations that the accused was involved in the illegal collection of sensitive information, including minute details of the DRDO defense projects and their progress, sensitive details about the future procurement of Indian armed forces, which reveal the strategic preparedness of the country's classified communications/information relating to national security, and details of the strategic and diplomatic talks.
Previously, searches were conducted at 15 locations in the NCR and Jaipur, resulting in the recovery of 48 electronic devices, including laptops, tablets, mobile phones, hard discs, pen drives, and so on, belonging to the identified accused in the FIR and those linked with the said accused.
They also claimed that a number of incriminating documents linked to Indian defence establishments had been confiscated.
The CBI's digital forensic experts recovered material from cloud-based accounts, emails, and social media accounts belonging to the accused and others. It was also claimed that the accused and his accomplice (an ex-Navy Commander now working for a private enterprise) had classified secret documents related to Indian defence establishments. According to an official, both accused were detained in May 2023.
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- With inputs from agencies
