Four booked under Official Secrets Act for spying, clicking photos of Air Force station in Gujarat

The four persons, including a 17-year-old boy, were intercepted by personnel of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on January 29 while taking photographs of the prohibited area, and later handed over to local police.

Four persons have been booked under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for spying after they allegedly clicked photos of a radar at the Naliya Air Force Station in Gujarat’s Kutch district bordering Pakistan, police said on Sunday.

Photographs of the sensitive defence area, mobile phones and a camera were recovered from the possession of the accused, a police officer said. Image used for representational purpose. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

The four persons, including a 17-year-old boy, were intercepted by personnel of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on January 29 while taking photographs of the prohibited area, and later handed over to local police.

Photographs of the sensitive defence area, mobile phones and a camera were recovered from the possession of the accused, a police officer said, adding that a case was registered on Saturday under Section 3 of the OSA.

The Section 3 deals with penalties for spying at a prohibited area.

“Four persons, including a minor, who all are residents of Naliya and surrounding villages had taken photographs of a radar at the Naliya Air Force Station on January 29.

“An offence was registered against them on Saturday under the Section 3 of the OSA,” said Police Inspector, Special Operations Group (SOG), Ajay Zala.

The accused have been identified as Rafiq Azam, Arbaz Ismael Umra, and Abbas Padhiyar, apart from the 17-year-old youth, he said.

They are yet to be arrested, the officer added.