Relief for navy men in espionage case

Two Naval employees who faced trial for passing on sensitive information to Pakistan intelligence agents in Nepal were acquitted on Friday. An additional sessions court lambasted the police for conducting the investigation in a “casual” manner.

“The duty of the investigating agency is to reach the real culprit. A half-hearted investigation is like compromising with the safety and security of the state,” the court said.

The prosecution failed to prove any conspiracy between the accused, former sailor Girija Shanker Pandey and havaldar Sabhajit Yadav, charged with criminal conspiracy under IPC and Official Secrets Act. Pandey, who retired from the Navy in 1996, was arrested in 2000, while allegedly trying to send an envelope containing sensitive information through courier to a Pakistani agent in Kathmandu.

Yadav was also arrested a day later, allegedly on Pandey’s disclosure. The court noted that the police did not try to trace alleged kingpin RK Sharma.