A special squad of Balasore Police in Odisha arrested four contractual employees of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday on charges of willfully communicating classified information about the high-security Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur to Pakistani agents.

Reportedly, these people, residents of Jhampura Hata and Nuanai in Chandipur of Balasore district, were deployed by the DRDO in manual operational works at the defence installation. They had regular access to DRDO’s ITR.

Balasore Police SP Sudhanshu Mishra told India Today, “We had received credible information that some persons are wrongfully and willfully communicating the classified defence secrets to foreign agents, appearing to be Pakistani agents, being contacted from various ISD phone numbers. In exchange, they were getting wrongful monetary benefits from them. Based on the inputs, multiple police teams were formed to apprehend the culprits. During raids, several incriminating materials were recovered.”

Sources said one of the accused, identified as Basanta Behera, was an air-conditioner engaged in Pad III of Prithvi missile centre. He was allegedly in regular touch with his handler and had been found calling and receiving ISD calls frequently.

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The officials had initially suspected him of transmitting defence-related information to foreign agents about the DRDO’s missile activities. After most of his calls were traced to international borders beyond Rajasthan, Balasore Police informed Odisha Police’s headquarters about his activities.

Six teams, consisting of six IICs and six DSPs, were then formed to nab the culprits. Behera and three other accused were picked up from their houses near the DRDO gate on Tuesday.

The four accused have been booked under sections 3,4 and 5 of the Official Secret Act by Balasore district police.

Notably, earlier, a contractual photographer of Chandipur ITR, Ishwar Behera, was arrested and convicted for passing on information, related to missile design and technology, to Pakistan’s ISI. He was awarded life imprisonment recently.

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