The official documents recovered from journalist Mahesh Langa hint at a corporate espionage ring, according to the Gujarat police. The documents, claim the investigators, was not used by Langa for any professional work.
The documents never made it to any print or electronic platform in the form of journalistic work, the Gujarat police pointed out. This indicates a possible corporate espionage ring, through which bureaucrats were supplying documents via Langa to certain corporate players, the police said.
The case for unauthorised possession of official document was registered against Langa in Gandhinagar on Oct. 23. The FIR was filed following the alleged recovery of some documents of the Gujarat Maritime Board from him. District Superintendent of Police Ravi Teja Vasamsetty had told PTI that online FIR was not accessible to the public as it has been put under "sensitive category".
Sources told the news agency that Langa, along with an employee of the maritime board were booked on the charges of theft and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The Gujarat police has conducted searches and inquiries at the office of the maritime board in connection to the case, officials said. They have arrested an employee of the board who allegedly leaked the documents.
The details emerge a day after several press bodies, including Editors Guild of India, Press Club of India and Press Association, condemned the second FIR against Langa in connection to the possession of the official documents. They demanded the withdrawal of the charges.
Notably, Langa is lodged behind the bars since earlier this month after he was arrested in a case of alleged GST fraud in Gujarat. On Tuesday, the Ahmedabad police said a third FIR has also been registered against him for allegedly defrauding a businessman of Rs 28 lakh.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik, while briefing the press, dismissed the charge that the police action against Langa was driven by vendetta. "The crime branch is conducting a professional investigation," he underlined.
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