Visakhapatnam Navy espionage case: Two more accused sentenced by NIA court

New Delhi: A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday sentenced two more accused in the Pakistan-linked Visakhapatnam Navy espionage case to simple imprisonment and imposed fines.

The accused, Ashok Kumar from Jhunjhunu district and Vikas Kumar from Alwar district in Rajasthan, will serve five years and 11 months of simple imprisonment each. They also face an additional one-year imprisonment if they default on paying a Rs 5,000 fine, according to a statement from the NIA special court in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

With these convictions, the NIA has secured sentences for eight of the 15 accused arrested in the case to date. Ashok Kumar and Vikas Kumar were arrested in December 2019 from Mumbai and Karwar, respectively.

The NIA had filed chargesheets against 14 accused in June 2020 and a supplementary chargesheet against one more in March 2021. The trial of the other accused remains ongoing.

The case pertains to espionage activities involving foreign spies targeting vital installations and Indian Navy establishments. The NIA took over the investigation from Andhra Pradesh Police’s Intelligence Department in December 2019 and continues to pursue the full conspiracy aimed at undermining India’s security and sovereignty.

With inputs from PTI