An army accountant in the Bengal Engineering Group (BEG), known popularly as the Bengal Sappers, in Roorkee was arrested on charges of leaking classified defence and unit-related information to a Pakistan-based woman, a senior police officer said on Tuesday.
The SHO of Roorkee city police station, Devendra Chauhan, identified the accused as Imami Khan.
“A case has been registered against Imami Khan working as an assistant accountant in Bengal Engineering Group-BEG under relevant sections of Officials Secret Act. He is being interrogated by army officials also and further legal process is underway,” said Chauhan.
According to officials familiar with the matter, a team of the Union defence ministry arrived at the BEG campus in Roorkee on Monday night where they briefed army officers about the information being leaked by Khan.
Khan, a resident of Sikandarpur in Uttar Pradesh, was then interrogated for over an hour by the ministry team and army officials, said the official, asking not to be named.
A probe of Khan’s phone revealed more than 200 messages and emails containing sensitive information and secret documents sent to the Pakistani woman, said the official.
Financial transactions from the woman to Khan were also traced during the investigation, the official added.
A case was registered against Khan under the Official Secrets Act, 1932, on Tuesday based on a complaint lodged by senior officer Deepak Gupta, BEG accounts department.
In May this year, Roorkee resident and army officer Pradeep Kumar, who was posted in Jodhpur, was also arrested on charges of leaking vital defence information and documents to a Pakistan-based woman.
