DRDO Espionage Case Balasore/UNI: Additional District Judge (ADJ), Balasore on Thursday convicted former contractual lensman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Ishwara Behera on the charge of espionage and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Iswar, a contractual cameraman was assigned to a highly sensitive defence establishment, ITR(Integrated test range), a missile testing unit of DRDO based at Chandipur.
The 41-year-old native of Kantipur village near Baisinga in Mayurbhanj district was booked under Sections 121A and 120B of the IPC, and 3, 4 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 which include abetment of waging war against State.
Deputy director prosecution, Crime branch, Chittaranjan Kanungo said that it was proved that Behera was in touch with an ISI agent and sharing secret and classified information of ITR missile testing activities with him for monetary gain.
His audio conversation of about 666 seconds,too, was confirmed by the forensic laboratory.During investigation it was found that money was transferred to his account through internet banking.
Behera also received money orders from various places including Mumbai, Meerut, Ajmer Andhra Pradesh, Bihar Middle East Abu Dhabi.
The verdict was pronounced today after about six years of his arrest. The judge also imposed Rs 10,000 each penalty under two of the sections along with the life imprisonment.
As many as 29 witnesses were examined, 44 document evidences and 36 material evidences were produced in the court.
Even the statement of a postmaster of Meerut city in connection with the money order received by Behera was recorded .
"This is one of the rarest of rare cases and also an exceptional one which has never happened before in Odisha,” said Mr.Kanungo.
Behera was in touch with one Asif Ali of Meerut city, a suspected ISI agent who is still in jail.
Ishwar was employed as a cameraman at the ITR on contractual basis in 2007 against a monthly salary of Rs 8,000 as a contractual videographer in the CCTV section of ITR.
The government put him under surveillance following intelligence inputs by central agencies about his suspicious activities.
Based on inputs by IB, a special wing of Odisha Police tracked his movements for several weeks before arresting him and took him under custody on Jan,23 ,2015.
The Police had seized a computer, cell phone, hard disk, bank passbook and pen drive and several other items from his house.
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