The alleged kingpin in the infamous Navy war-room leak case, former naval officer Ravi Shankaran, has finally been found in London after a hunt half-way across the globe since 2005.
"He has been arrested by the police in London and is at present out on bail. We have moved papers for his extradition,'' said CBI director Ashwani Kumar on Thursday.
Shankaran, 46, who exploited the fact that he was related to then Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash's wife to gain access to the corridors of power, was arrested in London last month after a tip-off from Interpol, which had issued a Red Corner Notice against him in 2006.
The case had created waves after it was discovered that classified data stored in computers in the war-room in South Block had been stolen to help certain arms dealers. It had eventually led to the sacking of three naval officers and an IAF officer.
Shankaran was declared a proclaimed offender in 2006, with the government revoking his passport and approaching a UK court for his arrest. However, he had managed to give a slip to London Police and was believed to have been roaming in France, Italy and Denmark since then.
Apart from Shankaran, the 250-page CBI chargesheet in the case names Lt Commander Kulbhushan Parashar, Commander Vijender Rana, Commander Vinod Kumar Jha and Wing Commander S L Surve, among others.
CBI later also arrested controversial businessman Abhishek Verma, son of a former Congress MP, as one of the main accused in the case for allegedly using defence personnel to procure sensitive information to further his commercial interests.
The CBI said as many as 7,000 pages of classified information from the Navy war-room and the IAF HQ air defence directorate were "compromised'' in the episode.
The persons named in the chargesheet, filed under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and Indian Penal Code's criminal conspiracy section, allegedly entered into the conspiracy to collect classified information, which "was calculated to be or might be or was intended to be useful to the enemy''.
It was "related to a matter, the disclosure of which, to an unauthorised person, is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India and the security of the state'', said CBI.
There were even reports that the case was linked to the alleged kickbacks paid in the Rs 18,798-crore French Scorpene submarine construction project currently underway in Mazagon Docks. But nothing much came out of it.
"He has been arrested by the police in London and is at present out on bail. We have moved papers for his extradition,'' said CBI director Ashwani Kumar on Thursday.
Shankaran, 46, who exploited the fact that he was related to then Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash's wife to gain access to the corridors of power, was arrested in London last month after a tip-off from Interpol, which had issued a Red Corner Notice against him in 2006.
The case had created waves after it was discovered that classified data stored in computers in the war-room in South Block had been stolen to help certain arms dealers. It had eventually led to the sacking of three naval officers and an IAF officer.
Shankaran was declared a proclaimed offender in 2006, with the government revoking his passport and approaching a UK court for his arrest. However, he had managed to give a slip to London Police and was believed to have been roaming in France, Italy and Denmark since then.
Apart from Shankaran, the 250-page CBI chargesheet in the case names Lt Commander Kulbhushan Parashar, Commander Vijender Rana, Commander Vinod Kumar Jha and Wing Commander S L Surve, among others.
CBI later also arrested controversial businessman Abhishek Verma, son of a former Congress MP, as one of the main accused in the case for allegedly using defence personnel to procure sensitive information to further his commercial interests.
The CBI said as many as 7,000 pages of classified information from the Navy war-room and the IAF HQ air defence directorate were "compromised'' in the episode.
The persons named in the chargesheet, filed under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and Indian Penal Code's criminal conspiracy section, allegedly entered into the conspiracy to collect classified information, which "was calculated to be or might be or was intended to be useful to the enemy''.
It was "related to a matter, the disclosure of which, to an unauthorised person, is prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India and the security of the state'', said CBI.
There were even reports that the case was linked to the alleged kickbacks paid in the Rs 18,798-crore French Scorpene submarine construction project currently underway in Mazagon Docks. But nothing much came out of it.
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