Ex-BrahMos Aerospace Engineer Stole Classified Russian Missile Data
Nagpur, India: A recent hearing revealed that former BrahMos Aerospace engineer Nishant Agrawal had copied 19 confidential files from the BrahMos facility, including a susceptible file labelled as "top secret." This particular file contained crucial details about a key component used in Russian missiles. The information emerged during discussions on Agrawal’s appeal for sentence suspension and potential bail.
Agrawal was convicted of leaking classified information to Pakistani intelligence and was sentenced to life imprisonment earlier this year. The High Court, with Justices Vinay Joshi and Vrushali Joshi presiding, heard the final arguments on Wednesday and has now reserved judgment on the case.
Agrawal was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 3 by Additional Sessions Judge M. V. Deshpande for his involvement in espionage activities on behalf of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He was arrested in 2018 in Nagpur for leaking information about the BrahMos missile, a supersonic cruise missile developed by India in collaboration with Russia.
During the hearing, the prosecution, represented by Adv Anup Badar, disclosed that Agrawal had copied the top-secret file onto a laptop, which was later seized from his home. The file contained sensitive information that could potentially be used by anti-Indian governments to counter the missile's capabilities. The police also seized a pen drive, a Nokia phone, and hard disks during their investigation.
The prosecution presented evidence, including statements from senior BrahMos officials and technical details linking Agrawal to a Facebook account operated by an ISI spy under "Shejal Kapoor." The defence, led by Senior Adv Siddhartha Dave, argued that the sensitive information was not found on Agrawal's laptop and disputed the prosecution's claims.
After hearing both sides, the court has reserved its decision, with a final judgment to be announced later.
