NAGPUR: Nishant Aggarwal, the engineer from BrahMos Aerospace’s facility at Nagpur arrested on charges of espionage earlier this month, is learnt to have been in contact with the alleged Pakistani agents since last one year. The secret data related to missile systems is expected to have gone from his personal computers during this period. Though, according to confessions by Aggarwal during initial interrogation, he had the data with him since nearly four years. After the initial action by Uttar Pradesh’s Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) too is learnt to have entered the scene in this case. 

Aggarwal has been remanded to a week’s judicial custody after being in police custody for two weeks after his arrest from Nagpur. The ATS had sought an extension of his remand to continue his interrogation. The defence lawyer, however, pleaded that he was a young scientist and being implicated as a part of a conspiracy. 

Sources privy to the developments say that inflow of funds to the tune of Rs6 lakh have also been found in his accounts. His monthly income from salary ranges up to a lakh and further details are being probed. The amount has been credited from other sources over and above his salary. The sleuths are now also scanning his computer to assess the damage done by the leakage of information.

Sources say that sleuths have found a likelihood that the information may have been stolen from his computer by the agents who established contact with Aggarwal through Facebook and other social media. The agents were posing as girls using Facebook names of Neha Sharma and Pooja Ranjan. 

However, the first information report (FIR) registered by the ATS says it was found during questioning that Aggarwal had the data related to missiles in his computer since around four years.

Aggarwal is reported to have said during interrogation that he had taken the data from the official computer of his senior at BrahMos Aerospace’s Hyderabad centre around four years ago, during his posting there. The person has now left the job and is in Canada. He has named other officials too saying they had stored similar data in their personal devices as well.