A senior engineer at Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Bengaluru has been accused of sharing critical national secrets with Pakistani intelligence operatives.

BENGALURU: An employee of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has been accused of sharing critical national secrets with Pakistan-based intelligence operatives.
The 36-year-old senior engineer, whose surname is Chandra (identity is yet to be formally announced), is currently working at BEL’s Bengaluru unit and hails from Uttar Pradesh.
He has been charged with espionage over an extended period and is being jointly interrogated by military intelligence and the state intelligence.
Sources said Chandra came under scanner after Military Intelligence found that he had allegedly received payments from a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO) via a suspected cryptocurrency account. This payment raised suspicions that Chandra was either being cultivated by or paid for providing sensitive data to Pakistan.
Following these findings, the Karnataka State Intelligence tracked down Chandra. During questioning by the intelligence agencies it was learnt that the accused had been sharing the classified information through encrypted platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and email. Additional evidence also suggested that Chandra had stolen data from other departments within BEL.
This apart, an internal investigation by BEL confirmed the senior engineer’s role in leak of critical data which includes details about communication and radar systems, operating systems, production systems, security measures at BEL, and information about senior defence officials. The laptop and mobile phone seized from the accused engineer will be sent for further analysis to the Cloud Investigation and Response Automation (CIRA) laboratory, which is operated by the Ministry of Defence.