HAL staffer held for supplying secret aircraft info to Pak's ISI

The Nashik unit of Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has arrested a 41-year-old Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) employee for supplying secret details about Indian fighter aircraft to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency of Pakistan.

A police statement said he was supplying secret information about Indian fighter jets and their manufacturing unit to ISI. The Nashik unit of ATS had received reliable intelligence about the man, who was in constant touch with ISI, the statement said.

The accused was identified as Deepak Shirsath, reports said quoting DCP Vinay Rathod.

He was supplying secret information about Indian fighter aircraft and their sensitive details, along with the information related to HAL’s aircraft manufacturing unit at Ojhar near Nashik, airbase and prohibited area inside the manufacturing unit, said the police.

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The arrested person has been booked under the Official Secrets Act, said an official. He was arrested from his house in Nashik, the official said, adding that he was produced before the court on Friday and has been remanded in ATS custody for 10 days.

Three mobile handsets along with five SIM cards and two memory cards have been seized from him, he said. The phones and SIM cards were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for examination, he added.

HAL’s Aircraft Division Nashik, established in 1964 for licence manufacture of MiG-21FL aircraft and K-13 missiles, is located at Ojhar, 24 km from Nashik and around 200 km from Mumbai.

The division has also manufactured other MiG variants like MiG-21M, MiG-21 BIS, MiG-27 M and the state-of-the-art Su-30 MKI fighter jet. The division also carries out overhaul of the MiG series aircraft and Repair and Overhaul (ROH) of Su-30 MKI aircraft.

(With inputs from agencies)