Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Crime Branch (CB) would seek the assistance of Interpol in the Chandipur Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) espionage case.
“We would seek the help of the central agencies to track down the elusive woman ‘handler’ of the spy ring,” Crime Branch ADG Sanjeev Panda informed on Wednesday.
He further said that the photograph of the woman operative has been obtained along with footage of her video calls with the five arrested ITR-Chandipur employees.
The five accused allegedly leaked sensitive intel from the high-security defence establishment after being honey-trapped by the mysterious woman. She had proposed marriage to two of the accused and extended an invitation to one of them come to ‘her residence’ in Chandipur.
Also Read: ITR Espionage In Odisha: Mystery Woman Had Proposed Marriage To Two Accused
“We will seek further custody of the five and subject them to intensive questioning after verification of the data,” Panda added.
The five employees’ seven-day remand had ended on September 25. A team of Indian Air Force officials from West Bengal also interrogated the accused during their remand period in Cuttack.
The CB had earlier revealed that the woman used a UK phone number to talk to the accused and the call was rerouted through several IP addresses to conceal its originating location. She stayed connected with them using seven Facebook accounts under different names, besides WhatsApp.
She had also managed to hack the mobile phone of one of the arrested for around eight months and kept tabs on his activities.
Apart from this, the woman kept track of the movement of the ITR director through the ITR’s driver, Sachin Chheta, who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
Of the five accused, some had purchased new SIM cards to stay in touch with her.
Also Read: DRDO Espionage Case: PIL Filed In Orissa High Court Seeking CBI Probe
India test-fires its rockets, missiles and other air-borne weapon systems from this facility in Chandipur.
