Odisha police on Tuesday arrested four staff members of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), employed on contract, for allegedly sharing classified defence secrets with suspected agents from Pakistan. The four were employed at Chandipur base of DRDO, in Odisha's Balasore district, Inspector General of Police (eastern range) Himanshu Lal said. In a media release, Balasore police stated, “Basing on inputs received from reliable sources, four persons have been apprehended for committing offence of causing serious harm to security, sovereignty and integrity of our nation.” Further investigation is on to “unearth more evidence”, police said. IGP Lal said police had inputs that classified information was being shared “from within the premises”. He said the four accused worked as lower-rung contractual labourers in DRDO's Chandipur ITR. “The information was shared with foreign agents, appearing to be Pakistani agents. The suspected agents were contacted by the accused persons using different ISD phone numbers and in exchange they were getting wrongful monetary benefits. Their phones have been seized,” Lal said. Police have not identified the accused. They have been booked under IPC Sections 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), 121-A (conspiracy to wage a war against India) and 34 (act done with common intention), and under relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act.
