India’s CBI charges Canadian resident for alleged involvement in defence espionage case

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested a Canadian resident, Rahul Gangal, for his alleged involvement in a defence espionage case, Indian officials said on Tuesday.

He has been sent to four days of CBI custody by a special court, the officials said.

In May the CBI had arrested a former Indian Navy commander Ashish Pathak, and freelance journalist Vivek Raghuvanshi, for allegedly providing foreign parties with illegally collected sensitive information about the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and future procurements of the Indian army. Raghuvanshi and Pathak were booked under Section 3 (spying) of the Official Secrets Act and with Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Gangal is accused of allegedly procuring sensitive documents from Raghuvanshi. A search of his Delhi residence led to the recovery of incriminating documents and digital devices, the CBI said.

Rahul Gangal worked at Germany-based consulting firm Roland Berger’s Toronto office, according to his LinkedIn. He is allegedly involved in aerospace, defence, engineering products, automotive, homeland security and infrastructure dealings.

The CBI alleges that an international network involving intelligence agencies of other countries was behind the espionage, in which some Indian journalists were supplying strategic sensitive information to said agencies.

Rahat Sandhu