War room leak case: Warrant in UK against main accused

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) efforts to nab the alleged kingpin of the Navy war-room leak case got a boost today when a court in the United Kingdom (UK) issued a warrant to arrest Ravi Shankaran, a close relative of former Navy chief, Admiral (retd) Arun Prakash.

Shankaran, who, along with two Naval officers and two retired defence personnel named in the case, had been hiding in the UK after the lid was blown off a conspiracy involving copying of some 7,000 pages of senstive information in pendrives and smuggling them out of the Navy's war room and Air Defence wing of the Indian Air Force last year.

The arrest warrant was issued on a CBI request to the UK Home Department for provisional arrest of Shankaran.

Earlier, a red-corner alert was issued by the Interpol against Shankaran.

A Delhi court had declared Shankaran a proclaimed offender in June after he failed to respond to court notices published in UK papers and in India. Shankaran had fled before the CBI took charge of the case .

A CBI spokesperson said, "Vigorous efforts by the CBI have resulted in the issue of the warrant of arrest against Ravi Shankaran and it is considered a major step towards his apprehension and extradition.''

The CBI had also chargesheeted former naval Commander Kulbushan Parashar, sacked Naval Commanders Vijender Rana and VK Jha and former Air Force officers, Wing Commander (retired) SL Surve.

Shankaran, Parashar, Surve and Rana have been booked under the Official Secrets Act .

The CBI's 250-page chargesheet said the defence officials allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy for obtaining and collecting information related to defence matters, which was calculated to be or might be or was intended to be useful to the enemy or which related to a matter the disclosure of which, to unauthorised persons, was prejudicial to the sovergnity and integrity of India and the security of the state.