CBI chargesheets Abhishek Verma in Naval War Room case

New Delhi, Oct 19 (UNI) The CBI today chargesheeted businessman Abhishek Verma in the Naval War Room case for spying and criminal conspiracy.

It was alleged in the chargesheet, which the second in the case, that Verma conspired to obtain documents and information that could directly or indirectly affecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country, CBI said.

He was also charged under the Official Secrets Act for abeting and inducing government officials to commit offence.

Abhishek Verma was the Group Director of Atlas Group of Companies and also managing their affairs in India. Of this group, Atlas Defence and Atlas Telecom were into defence procurement areas and were in communication with the Defence Ministry for supply of various equipment/system.

He also controlled all the bank accounts of the group in India.

This group had an intense interface with foreigners till the detection of the naval war room leak.

The chargesheet was filed in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate.

Verma was arrested on July 21, and continued to be in judicial custody since then.

The Naval War Room Leak Case was registered on March 20 this year. The first charge sheet in the case was filed on July 3 against two retired Lieutenants of the navy, an ex-Wing Commander of the air Force and two ex-Commanders of the navy, on the charge of criminal conspiracy in obtaining classified documents through pen drives.

Pre-committal proceedings in this chargesheet were going on.

Close links of the accused being chargesheeted today with the key accused chargesheeted earlier had been established as also with the pen drives and some of the classified documents leaked through the pen drives. The modus operandi of obtaining of classified defence related documents by cultivating defence officials through lavish parties and giving illegal gratifications of different kinds, by employing the stratagem of pen drives had been established by CBI.

The investigating agency had earlier chargesheeted Vice President of Atlas Defence Systems who was instrumental in purchasing at least eight pen-drives which were given to compromised defence officials to collect sensitive information. Another charged accused was also closely associated with the Atlas Group.

The compromised defence information apart from large volume of classified defence information mentioned in the first chargesheet, contained 369 pages of sensitive procurement related letters and file notings of the Defence Ministry that indicated the access of the Atlas Group and the accused chargesheeted today to the ministry.

Further investigation against the involved defence officials and other accused were still on.

UNI IP VD BD1929