NIA chargesheets 13 accused in Ghaziabad espionage case

Lucknow: The NIA filed a charge sheet against 13 accused in the Special Court, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, in connection with the Ghaziabad Espionage case that involved passing on sensitive information about prohibited areas to sources in an enemy country, an official said on Saturday.

It has been established that the accused illegally trespassed into, approached, and accessed prohibited/sensitive areas of vital importance, installed spy cameras, and transmitted sensitive information, including photographs and videos with geo-tagging, to entities based in an enemy country, the NIA said in the charge sheet.

A Detailed Investigation Report (DIR) against 5 juveniles in conflict with the law has already been submitted before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Ghaziabad, on May 18 in connection with the espionage matter, the official said in a statement.

Those named in the latest charge sheet are: Praveen, Raj Valmiki, Shiva Valmiki, Ritik Gangwar, Sameer @ Shooter, Durgesh Nishad, Naushad, Gagan Kumar, Vivek, Shivraj, Meera Thakur and Shane Iram @ Mahak in NIA case No. RC-01/2026/NIA/LKW (Ghaziabad Espionage Case), before the Special Court NIA, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, under sections 61(2) and 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, and sections 13, 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The case was initially registered as FIR No. 76/2026, dated March 14, at Kaushambi Police Station, Commissionerate Ghaziabad, under sections 61(2) and 152 of the BNS and sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act.

During the investigation, police added section 18 of the UA (P) Act. So far, 21 accused persons have been arrested in the case, the statement said.

The investigation has established that the accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy to commit illegal acts and serious offences prejudicial to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, the NIA said.

The accused also facilitated such enemy-state-linked entities in procuring and using Indian SIM cards for unlawful activities, and actively assisted them in obtaining photographs and videos of sensitive installations along with their precise GPS coordinates, which has the potential to endanger the sovereignty, unity, integrity and security of the nation, said the NIA.

–IANS

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