The Visakhapatnam naval espionage case widened on Thursday after Andhra Pradesh’s Counter Intelligence Cell arrested two employees of an engineering company working at the Visakhapatnam Naval Dockyard, alleging that they shared information about the number of ships and submarines at the restricted facility with suspected Pakistan-linked operatives for money.
The arrests of Bongu Ravi, 30, and Kadari Srinivas, 31, took the total number of people arrested in the wider investigation to four. Both men worked for TD Engineering Company, with postings at different locations. Investigators allege that they remained in contact online and that Srinivas induced Ravi to share sensitive information about the naval dockyard.
According to the Counter Intelligence Cell, the two were introduced through Facebook by a woman using the name “Angel Payal”. The woman allegedly claimed to work for a Dubai-based shipping company involved in global logistics for ships and crews. Investigators have listed her as A-2 in the first information report and are treating her identity as unidentified.
Officials alleged that Srinivas communicated with Ravi through Facebook Messenger and persuaded him to provide details about the number of ships and submarines present at the dockyard in exchange for money. The Counter Intelligence Cell described the facility as a highly restricted and sensitive defence area.
Srinivas, identified by investigators as a key person of interest, had travelled to Saudi Arabia in the first week of October, according to sources cited in the report. After Andhra Pradesh Police made attempts to secure his deportation, he reportedly flew to New Delhi on October 11. Visakhapatnam City Police and Counter Intelligence Cell officers took him into custody at the airport and brought him to Visakhapatnam.
The latest arrests follow the agency’s announcement on October 6 that it had dismantled a module allegedly involved in sharing sensitive defence information with Pakistan Intelligence Operatives. The agency said the wider network comprised at least 18 suspects, including 13 people associated with the Navy. The operation, code-named “Operation Firewall–2026”, began on October 1, with 12 teams deployed across Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Goa, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Bihar.
Investigators allege that Pakistani operatives used fake identities, including women’s profiles on social media, to befriend personnel associated with the Visakhapatnam Naval Dockyard. The operatives allegedly offered money and, in some cases, used blackmail to obtain information.
The wider investigation began with an FIR registered at the Counter Intelligence Police Station in Vijayawada on September 2. A second FIR was registered at Malkapuram Police Station in Visakhapatnam on October 12 under the Official Secrets Act, based on information provided by two people arrested earlier in October. A chargesheet was reportedly filed the same day against Ravi, Srinivas and the unidentified woman in a Visakhapatnam court under provisions of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The two earlier arrests were Pradeep Mukharjee, an employee at the Visakhapatnam base, and Annam Sai Varaprasad, a civilian contractual driver engaged to drive naval officers. Investigators alleged that Mukharjee shared a one-time password to activate a WhatsApp account for a Pakistan Intelligence Operative and communicated with the operative. Varaprasad was accused of sharing sensitive information in exchange for money. Both were produced before a Vijayawada court and remanded to judicial custody until October 14. The investigation into the alleged network is continuing.
