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UP Police gets 3-day transit remand of ‘spy’ scientist (Lead)
Nagpur (Maharashtra), Oct 9 (IANS) A Nagpur court on Tuesday granted to Uttar Pradesh Police the three-day transit remand of scientist Nishant Agrawal, arrested a day earlier on charge of spying for Pakistan intelligence agency ISI and other countries, officials said.
The Uttar Pradesh Police will soon take him to Lucknow for obtaining his proper remand and further investigatin the sensational case.
The UP Police informed Judicial Magistrate (First Class) S.M. Joshi that the accused, working in the BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd and arrested under the Official Secrets Act, was in touch with certain Pakistani intelligence operatives via two Facebook accounts operated under assumed names of ‘Pooja Rajan’ and ‘Neha Sharma’.
These accounts, created in Pakistan capital Islamabad, are reportedly operated by the Inter-Services Intelligence and Agrawal was found chatting with them, police said after presenting the accused in the court on Tuesday.
The UP-ATS had monitored these fake accounts aimed to honeytrap key officials working in sensitive defence-related organisations in India.
Agrawal was accused of leaking sensitive information on the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to foreign countries.
The ATS said that certain secret and ultra-sensitive information was found on Agrawal’s personal computer which it said “should not have been there, and it violates the provisions of the OSA.”
The joint ATS teams of the two states also searched his office and from another location seized an old laptop which is being examined.
They said that after the investigations into what kind of chats he was indulging in with the fake accounts on Facebook, the accused may be slapped with additional charges.
The UP-ATS also raided two other persons in Agra and Kanpur and seized their laptops for investigations.
As per preliminary information, Agrawal was reportedly passing on certain highly classified information to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as well as the USA.
However, official circles here are not aware of his access to the type of sensitive information or security clearance levels Agrawal enjoyed in the company.
Hailing from Roorkee in Uttarakhand, the young scientist had been living in rented home in Ujjwala Nagar of Nagpur in central India, and got married earlier this year.
Among other things, the BrahMos centre here is involved in manufacturing certain critical components for the BrahMos missile, considered the world’s fastest cruise missile that can be launched from land, ships, aircraft or submarines.
The Indo-Russian joint venture’s development of the latest version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile has elicited keen interest in global defence circles and several major political powers in the world.
The missile — successfully test-fired on July 16 from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore in Odisha — is an outcome of a joint venture of India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia Corp since 2011.
–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.