Journalist giving classified information to Chinese intelligence held along with Chinese woman: Delhi Police

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(From left) Qing Shi; Rajeev Sharma; Sher Singh aka Raj Bohra.(Photos: Delhi police)
The Delhi police on Saturday said that journalist Rajeev Sharma, who was arrested on charges of spying two days ago, was allegedly passing on sensitive information to Chinese intelligence agencies. They added a Chinese woman, Qing Shi, and a Nepalese man, Sher Singh alias Raj Bohra, have been booked along with Sharma under the Official Secrets Act after classified documents were recovered from their possession.

Sanjeev Yadav, the deputy commissioner of police (special cell), said Sharma was allegedly in contact with a Chinese intelligence official named Michael and passed on to him classified information related to Indian army deployments in the China-Bhutan-India tri-junction including Doklam. Yadav said Sharma had also allegedly given him information related to India-Myanmar military cooperation and other details about the border between India and China.

Police said Sharma was allegedly paid around $500 for each assignment and claimed that he had received around Rs 3 million since 2019. They did not specify how much he was allegedly paid before 2019. The payments, police said, were made through hawala, shell companies, and Western Union money transfers.



Police said that between 2010-2014, Sharma wrote for the Global Times (China). “Observing his columns, one Chinese intelligence agent named Michael from Kunming city of China contacted Sharma through his LinkedIn account and invited him to Kunming, China, for an interview in a Chinese Media Company. The entire trip was funded by Michael. During the meeting, Michael and his junior Xou asked Rajeev Sharma to provide inputs on various aspects of India-China relations. Between 2016 to 2018, Rajeev Sharma was in contact with Michael and Xou,” Yadav said.


The officer said Sharma had meetings with Michael and Xou in Laos and the Maldives once and briefed them. Besides these visits, Sharma was also allegedly in contact with Michael and Xou through e-mail and social media, police said.

Detailing Sharma’s alleged role after 2018, the special cell officer said, “In January 2019, Sharma came in contact with another Kunming-based Chinese entity named George. He visited Kunming via Kathmandu and met George. George was introduced as a general manager of a Chinese Media Company. During the meeting, George asked Rajeev Sharma to write and inform about issues related to the Dalai Lama. For this, he was offered $500 per article. George told Sharma that they would send him money through his company’s sister concern based in Mahipalpur, South Delhi, being operated by Qing.”


Yadav said Sharma was paid through shell companies. “Shell companies were operated by foreign intelligence to transfer funds to him. Two Chinese nationals -- Jhang Chang and his wife Chang-li-lia -- were running the companies MZ Pharmacy and MZ Malls, under fake names Suraj and Usha. They are both presently in China and on their behalf, Qing Shi and Bhora, a Nepali National (both directors of MZ Pharmacy) are presently operating the business from Mahipalpur.”




Sharma was arrested on September 14. Police said he was found in possession of confidential defence documents. He was produced before a court on September 15 and sent in police custody for six days. Sharma has filed a bail application, which will be heard on September 22.

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inb4 "poor honest journalist being persecuted by FASCHIS Mudi gormint for opposing him "
due to bitcoin ki baarish obviously.
Also chongs will catch some random desis in Cheenistan and say they are spies xD

 

[Dark Sorrow]

Delhi Police arrest 2 more people, including a Chinese national, in journalist spying case

Freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma was produced before a city court on September 15 and remanded in police custody for six days. He has filed a bail application that will be heard on September 22.

A Chinese woman and a Nepalese man have been arrested by the Delhi Police for their alleged involvement in the spy ring involving Delhi-based journalist Rajeev Sharma, who is already in police custody for allegedly passing on classified information to China, officials said on Saturday.

Sharma, a resident of Pitampura, was arrested for spying for China on September 14, police had said.

Police have registered a case under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) against Sharma, and the Chinese and Nepalese nationals have been arrested under the same charges, deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said.

“A freelance journalist, Rajeev Sharma, a resident of Pitampura New Delhi, has been arrested by the Special Cell in an Official Secrets Act case. He was found to be in possession of some defence related classified documents. Investigation of the case is in progress and further details will be shared in due course,” police said in a statement issued late on Friday.

Sharma was produced before a city court on September 15, a day after he was arrested, after which he was sent to police custody for six days.

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[Dark Sorrow]

New Delhi: The Delhi Police, on Saturday, officially said that freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma was passing sensitive and classified information to Chinese intelligence.


After many years, Indian law enforcement agencies have accused Chinese intelligence of running an espionage racket. Rajeev Sharma has been arrested along with a Chinese woman, Qin Shi and her Nepalese associate, Sher Singh.


"Special Cell has arrested a freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma for passing sensitive information to Chinese intelligence," the Delhi Police said in a statement.


The case is being probed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (special cell) Sanjeev Yadav. "A Chinese woman and her Nepalese aide have also been arrested for paying Sharma large amounts of money routed through shell companies," said DCP (special cell) Sanjeev Yadav.


The Delhi Police has said that the Chinese Intelligence Agencies had reportedly asked for 'sensitive information' from Sharma and offered large amounts of money.


A large number of mobile phones, laptops and other incriminating and sensitive material have been recovered, sources said.

(Nepalese man Sher Singh)


Sources said Sharma, a resident of Pitampura in north-west Delhi was arrested by the special cell on 14th September. An FIR (230/2020) has been filed in an Official Secrets Act case.


"He was found to be in possession of some defence-related classified documents. Investigation in the case is still on," said a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity.

(Chinese woman Qing Shi )


Sharma was produced before a Delhi court on 15th September. He is presently being questioned by a joint team of Central Intelligence Agencies and special cell of the Delhi Police.


Sharma had earlier worked with a news agency and some prominent newspaper. He also wrote columns for several publications and ran a YouTube channel. His primary focus area was foreign and strategic affairs.




In August, the Income Tax carried out raids on several Chinese nationals living in the national capital region, who were accused of money laundering.


During the probe, it was found that Charlie Peng aka Lou Peng had tried to pay bribes to monks living in Majnu ka Tila (North Delhi) so that he could enter the core group of Dalai Lama.


Lou Peng entered India illegally in 2014 and assumed Indian Identity. Chinese intelligence had given him the task of keeping a tab on Tibetan refugees and Dalai Lama.

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Police in India's capital city on Saturday said they had arrested a local freelance journalist on allegations he was passing "sensitive information" to Chinese intelligence officers.

In a statement, the Delhi Police said 61-year-old Rajeev Sharma was arrested earlier this week and officers had seized some confidential documents related to the Indian defence department from the journalist's residence.

One Chinese woman and her Nepalese partner were also arrested for allegedly supplying Sharma with "huge amounts of money" for "conveying information to Chinese intelligence".


The Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

Reuters could not immediately reach any of the three individuals, who are under arrest, or their lawyers.

"On interrogation, Rajeev Sharma has disclosed his involvement in procurement of secret/sensitive information and further conveying the same to his Chinese handlers," Delhi's Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said in the statement.

The arrest comes amid heightened tensions between India and China at their border in the Himalayan region. The relationship between the neighbours has worsened since a clash in June that India says of 20 of its troops were killed.

China suffered "far fewer" than the 20 deaths incurred by India's military in the clash, according to a tweet this week by the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, which is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party.

The police said Sharma was tasked with providing information on India-China boundary issues and other matters in recent years.

It added that between January 2019 and September 2020, Sharma received more than 3 million Indian rupees ($40,799.67) from one of his handlers.

India has in recent months banned several Chinese apps and made it tougher for Chinese companies to make investments.


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[avknight1408]

https://www.news18.com/news/india/e...ma-false-evidence-planted-lawyer-2892939.html

Espionage Case Against Journalist Rajeev Sharma 'False', 'Evidence Planted': Lawyer
He was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in connection with a case under the Official Secrets Act as he was allegedly found in possession of defence-related classified documents.

The espionage case lodged against arrested freelance journalist Rajeev Sharma under the Official Secrets Act is "false" and the "evidence was planted" by the Delhi police, his lawyer claimed on Sunday. The Delhi Police on Saturday said Sharma, a resident of Pitampura, was allegedly passing sensitive information about India's border strategy, Army's deployment and procurement, and foreign policy to Chinese intelligence agencies.



He was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police in connection with a case under the Official Secrets Act as he was allegedly found in possession of defence-related classified documents. Senior advocate Adish Aggarwala, who is representing the journalist, alleged that the police's claim of finding incriminating evidence from his possession was "not true".

We are not denying that he was working for a Chinese news organisation. The only dispute is the police's claim that they have found incriminating evidence, which is not true. "The evidence was planted later on. On September 14, when the police took him in custody, they searched his house that night and no incriminating evidence was found. He is being framed in a false case. He has not committed any of offence," Aggarwala told PTI.

The advocate said the police could have informed the media on the day of the arrest itself, but they did not "as nothing incriminating was found". "Once they (police) analysed and could not find any anything incriminating, they planted the evidence,"
he further alleged.

"They are not interrogating any official from the Defence Ministry. He must have found the documents from someone. It isn't that he printed them at his home," he claimed. Aggarwala also alleged that Sharma's family was not allowed access to him, nor was any information regarding the allegations furnished to them. "No copy of the FIR is uploaded online. Despite multiple requests, the police have not furnished a copy of the FIR. He was not given access to a lawyer when he was produced before a judge through video conferencing," he said and termed it "illegal".

The lawyer said the only thing the police had was that Sharma was working with a Chinese media organisation. "Our country has not stopped business with China. A lot of people from China are working here and a lot many Indians are working there. There's nothing wrong in that," he said.
Sharma's counsel has filed a bail application which is scheduled to come up for hearing on September 22 before a Delhi court. In the application, the counsel has said that there is "no risk of him running away from the process of justice". "The applicant has deep roots in society and is a respected senior journalist. His wife is also Associate Professor at Venkateswara College, Delhi University. Therefore, there is no risk of him running away from the process of justice.





"There is no chance of influencing any witness or tampering with any evidence. The investigation would no longer require custodial interrogation of the applicant, and he can join the investigation as and when directed," the application stated. It added the accused was of 61-years-old and was "suffering from an acute case of sinus problems, and requires constant treatment from a nebulizer".



"He has also undergone two surgeries for the same. Due to the same, he stands to be high risk to COVID-19. He is also a patient of high blood pressure, and taking medication for the same for the past decade," it said. The journalist had sent several documents in the form of reports to Chinese intelligence officers and got a handsome remuneration in return, police alleged.

 

[Kumata]

Well

Journalist Rajeev Sharma’s arrest ‘high-handed, mind-boggling,’ says Press Club of India

Sharma has been accused of passing on classified military information from India to Chinese intelligence.

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Is not that coupta heading PTI.. looks like many are on radar

The Press Club of India on Saturday criticised the Delhi Police for arresting journalist Rajeev Sharma in an Official Secrets Act case for allegedly passing on information about the Indian Army’s deployment and the country’s border strategy to Chinese intelligence. It said that the police action against Sharma was “high-handed” and “mind-boggling”.