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Naval information leak case Fourth accused held

Udupi (Karnataka), Feb 19 (PTI) The Udupi police have arrested another accused in a case involving the alleged transmission of confidential information related to the Indian Navy to Pakistan, taking the total number of arrests to four, officials said on Thursday.
    The arrested accused has been identified as Alif Islam (21), a native of West Bengal, who was presently residing at Marayur village in Idukki district of Kerala, they said.
    He was apprehended in connection with the alleged leak of a confidential list containing identification numbers of Indian naval vessels, police said.
    According to investigators, the accused are suspected to have shared sensitive information through WhatsApp and Facebook with contacts in Pakistan without authorisation.
    The case was registered at Malpe police station in 2025 following a complaint regarding the alleged illegal transmission of naval-related data, officials said.
    Police said the investigation pertains to the alleged sharing of a classified list of ship numbers linked to the Indian Navy.
    In November 2025, two accused -- Rohit and Santri from Uttar Pradesh -- were taken into custody in connection with the same case. Later, Hirendra Kumar from Gujarat was arrested in December 2025.
    With the latest arrest, the number of persons held in the case has risen to four.
    Police said one more accused is yet to be apprehended. The operator of the Facebook page allegedly used to transmit the information also remains at large.
    Investigators suspect that Islam may be a Bangladeshi national, and efforts are on to verify his citizenship and other credentials.
    Further investigation is under way, police added.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)