Navy commander, 2 retired officials among 5 arrested

It is alleged that the Commander shared crucial details about the ongoing modernisation project of Kilo class submarines with the two retired officers in return for money, said an official who asked not to be named.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a commander-rank serving officer and two retired officials of the Indian Navy and two others for allegedly leaking confidential information related to an ongoing submarines project, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The Indian Navy said on Tuesday an investigation related to alleged information leak of administrative and commercial nature has come to light and is being investigated by the appropriate government agency. (Representational image)

The federal anti-corruption agency refused to divulge any other details of the case, including the name of the serving officer arrested for the leak. However, officials who didn’t want to be named said the investigation started last month and the matter relates to the upgrade of Russian-origin Kilo class submarines in the Indian fleet.

At least 19 locations in Delhi, Mumbai, Noida and Hyderabad have been raided so far in the case and several people and recovered digital evidence are being examined, they added.

It is alleged that the Commander shared crucial details about the ongoing modernisation project of Kilo class submarines with the two retired officers in return for money, said an official who asked not to be named.

The Anti Corruption Unit of the agency, which handles sensitive and high profile corruption cases, was tasked with unearthing details of the leak, the people added.

It wasn’t immediately clear how the navy got to know about the leak.

Investigation is being carried out to unearth if the information had fallen into the wrong hands, the people said.

The Indian Navy said on Tuesday an investigation related to alleged information leak of administrative and commercial nature has come to light and is being investigated by the appropriate government agency.

The investigation by the agency is with complete support of the Indian Navy is in progress, it added.

An internal inquiry by the navy is also underway and is being carried out by a vice admiral to find out how information leaked despite security protocols and advisories, and how lacunae, if any can be fixed, the people cited in the first instance said.

India operates eight Kilo class submarines, four HDW German origin submarines and three Scorpene submarines built in India under technology transfer from France (three more Scorpenes will join the fleet in the future). The navy also operates an indigenous nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, INS Arihant.

India is also pursuing a project worth ₹43,000 crore for building six advanced submarines under the government’s “strategic partnership” (SP) model to bolster the Indian Navy’s underwater force levels and counter the rapid expansion of China’s submarine fleet. The new submarines are part of the 30-year submarine-building programme approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 1999.