31-year-old contract worker at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders who was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) earlier this week had reportedly shared 25 sketches depicting various areas of Mazagon Dockyard, including warships, submarines, and other critical locations, with Saloni Sharma, an Intelligence Operative based in Pakistan. The ATS has been granted custody of the accused until March 19 for further investigation. The ATS sought custody of the accused, citing the necessity for additional time to thoroughly
investigate all the sketches. "We have forwarded all the sketches to Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and requested information regarding which sketches pose a sensitive threat to national security," the ATS informed the court. They emphasized the importance of having the accused individual in custody for further investigation, as he was the one who shared these sketches.All the sketches shared by the accused contained meticulous details including of missile positions in a warship. All the 25 sketches are different from others.
Additionally, the accused shared sketches of a warship that had been commissioned approximately two years ago and subsequently brought to the Mazgaon Dockyard for repair and upgrade purposes. Furthermore, the accused also shared a photograph depicting the exterior of the dockyard premises.The accused, identified as Kalpesh Baikar, a resident of Alibaug taluka in Raigad, engaged in voice and video calls with Saloni Sharma, an alleged PIO. Sharma purportedly used a fake identity to entice Baikar. However, it was revealed that there were two audio and video calls conducted via WhatsApp, during which Baikar interacted with an individual posing as a girl. The ATS highlighted before the court the importance of investigating these communications thoroughly, underscoring the necessity for additional custody of the accused for further interrogation and inquiry.
Shockingly, it was discovered that the mobile number used by the alleged PIO was registered under the name of a fisherman residing in Gujarat. The ATS informed the court that upon investigation, a team was sent to Gujarat, where it was revealed that the mobile number had not been in use by the fisherman for several years. Further startling information emerged when it was disclosed that several years ago, the fisherman had inadvertently crossed the international border in sea and was subsequently arrested by the Pakistan Navy. He spent a harrowing three and a half years in Pakistani jail before being released. Astonishingly, upon his release, the Pakistan Navy did not return his mobile phone, and it was this same number that was used to lure Baikar in the alleged honey trap.
Baikar fell into a honey trap laid by a Pakistani agent after disclosing that he was employed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, a facility specializing in the repair and maintenance of defense warships. As phones are not allowed inside the workplace due to regulations, Baikar prepared sketches. He then shared these materials with the PIO via Facebook and WhatsApp, informed sources.The Navi Mumbai unit of the Anti-Terrorism Squad received confidential information indicating that an Indian suspect had been in communication with a PIO and had disclosed confidential and sensitive information pertaining to an area restricted by the Indian government. The accused had been in contact with a PIO via Facebook and WhatsApp between November 2021 and May 2023.The accused, employed as a fabricator at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., began his journey after completing a Fitter course at an ITI college in Alibaug, joining the shipbuilders in May 2014.