The Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma under the Official Secrets Act (OSA), for passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence, The Quint has reported.
According to the report Mr. Sharma was in possession of classified defence-related documents.
“One Chinese lady and her Nepalese associate were also arrested for paying him large amounts of money routed through shell companies. Chinese intelligence tasked the journalist for conveying sensitive information in lieu of large amounts of money. A huge number of mobile phones, laptops and other incriminating/sensitive material recovered,” read the statement.
Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, DCP, Special Cell Delhi Police said that Rajeev Sharma was involved in passing sensitive defence and strategic information to Chinese intelligence officers from 2016 to 2018.
He was arrested based on inputs from central agencies. Based on his interrogation details, one Chinese and one Nepali nationals were arrested. The Chinese national had come to India for studies and she had taken admission in a central university in 2014 and since then she has been living in New Delhi.
On 7 September, Mr. Sharma wrote a piece for Global Times, titled ‘A rapprochement road map for Beijing and New Delhi benefits both countries’, in which he said, “The steady deterioration of bilateral relations since the night of May 5, when the latest standoff began, has practically evaporated all the diplomatic gains of the past years in one stroke. The current crisis is the biggest threat to normal ties between the two sides since 1962. It’s a lose-lose situation for both. Their common objective must be to build a better and peaceful future for their peoples and not a military buildup against one another.
