The sessions court on Monday convicted 28-year-old Javed Mozawala to seven years imprisonment under the Official Secrets Act. He had allegedly passed on secrets relating to the Western Naval Comm-and in Mumbai, Navy facility in Lonavala, Bandra-Worli Sealink Navy area and Koyna Dam in the Satara district to Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
Mozawala was convicted under Sections 468 and 469 of the said Act. The crime branch, however, failed to prove his complicity under Section 120B IPC (criminal conspiracy). While the order was being passed by sessions judge Vrushali V. Joshi, Mozawalla collapsed on hearing his conviction.
On December 8, 2010, Mozawala was arrested by the crime branch from the Mazgaon dock area.
The police had alleged that he had completed a recce of defence installations in Mumbai. The crime branch found a desktop computer, disc drive, five DVDs, two pencil drivers, a cellphone, several SIM cards and pictures of defence installations torn from magazines. They alleged that several fake job identity cards and phone numbers of senior defence officers were also found from his house. The seized items were sent to the state forensic lab at Kalina.
“The forensic lab gave its report in our favour, I don’t know why the judge gave the order against my brother,” Mozawala’s sister told The Asian Age. According to the prosecution, two senior officials in the Pakistan High Commission initially rejected visa applications sent by Mozawala. He then met the two officials, who lured him into sending information about defence installations in India.
The crime branch filed its 550-page chargesheet in March 2011, after which the trial went on and the verdict came on Monday. The two Pakistan High Comm-ission officials Abdul Bhatti and Jamal Bhatti were also shown as accused, but they fled to Pakistan.