Espionage case: Freelance journalist, two others sent to judicial custody
A Delhi court on Sunday sent freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma, Chinese woman Qing Shi and Nepalese citizen Sher Singh to judicial custody in connection with the espionage case against them.
According to Sharma’s advocate AdishAggarwala, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Patiala House Court sent the trio to jail after they were produced at 9.45 p.m. at the end of their police custody.
On September 14, the Delhi Police’s Special Cell had arrested 61-year-old Sharma, who was allegedly working for Chinese intelligence.
During a search of his house in the Pitampura area, a laptop, some confidential documents related to Indian defence and some other incriminating papers were reportedly seized.
During his police remand, Qing and her Nepalese partner Sher Singh alias Raj Bohra were also arrested as they were found supplying Sharma with huge amounts of money, routed through hawala channels, for conveying sensitive information to Chinese intelligence, DCP Special Cell Sanjeev Yadav had said.
The DCP said that an input was received from an intelligence agency that Sharma had links with a foreign intelligence officer and has been receiving funds from his handler, through illegal means and Western Union money transfer, for conveying sensitive information about national security and foreign relations.
A case under Section 3 (possession of any sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information, which relates to munitions of war), 4 (Communications with foreign agents) and 5 (Wrongful communication of information) of the Official Secrets Act was registered on September 13 and Sharma arrested the next day.
“On interrogation, Rajeev Sharma disclosed his involvement in the procurement of secret and sensitive information and conveying the same to his Chinese handlers Michael and George, based in Kunming, China, through different digital channels. He further disclosed that he was about to send these recovered secret documents to his handlers,” Yadav said.
Police said that in the past also, Sharma had sent several documents in the form of reports to his handlers and got a handsome amount of money from them.
