NIA Court Sentences Two More in Visakhapatnam Navy Spying Case, Taking Convictions to 10

Overview

• The NIA Special Court in Visakhapatnam sentenced Somnath Sanjay Ikade of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, and Sonu Kumar of Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.
• Each received simple imprisonment of 5 years, 11 months and 15 days under UAPA Section 18 and Official Secrets Act Section 3, plus a ₹5,000 fine with one extra year SI on default.
• The pair were arrested in December 2019 from Karwar, Karnataka, and Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, respectively.
• With these verdicts, total convictions in the Pakistan-linked case rise to 10, while trials continue against five other accused.
• NIA took over the probe from Andhra Pradesh police in December 2019, filed a chargesheet against 14 in June 2020 and a supplementary chargesheet in March 2021, and says investigations remain active to map the full espionage plot.