Andhra Pradesh Police have arrested two more persons in an alleged espionage case involving Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs), taking the total number of arrests to four, officials said.
The accused have been identified as Bongu Ravi and Kadari Srinivas. The arrests were made by the Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence Cell as part of an investigation into the alleged sharing of sensitive information from the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.
According to an intelligence official, an unidentified woman using the name ‘Angel Payal’ allegedly contacted Ravi, an employee of an engineering company at the Naval Dockyard, through Facebook in 2023. She reportedly claimed to work for a Dubai-based shipping company and allegedly offered him money in exchange for information about ships and submarines at the naval facility.
Investigators allege that Ravi and his colleague Srinivas shared details about the number of ships and submarines at the restricted defence establishment with the woman. Ravi allegedly received payments into his bank account and subsequently transferred a portion of the money to Srinivas.
The case was registered at Malkapuram Police Station in Visakhapatnam on October 12, 2025, under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Official Secrets Act, 1923.
Ravi was arrested and remanded to judicial custody. A Look Out Circular was also initiated against Srinivas after he left India for Saudi Arabia on October 11, 2025.
The Counter Intelligence Cell, working with central intelligence agencies, traced Srinivas and intercepted him at Delhi airport on October 11, 2026, when he returned from Saudi Arabia. He was subsequently taken to Malkapuram Police Station for examination.
A charge sheet had earlier been filed before the jurisdictional court against Ravi, the unidentified woman and Srinivas, while further investigation is continuing.
On October 6, the Andhra Pradesh Police Counter Intelligence Cell arrested two other individuals, including a naval staff member, for allegedly spying for Pakistan.
Of the 18 suspects identified in the case, 13 are naval personnel, according to officials. Investigators are examining suspected attempts to obtain sensitive defence information through fake social media identities, alleged honeytrapping, financial inducements and the use of WhatsApp activation one-time passwords (OTPs).
