Bengaluru: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has suspended Deeparaj Chandra, a 36-year-old engineer from its Product Development and Innovation Centre (PDIC), for allegedly leaking sensitive defence information to Pakistani operatives, media reports said.

Authorities have seized Chandra’s digital devices for forensic examination at a defence laboratory, employing Cloud Investigation and Response Automation—an AI-driven technology used to detect and respond to security threats, reported The New Indian Express.

His arrest hinges on the findings of the digital forensic report.

Sources indicate that Chandra had been in contact with Pakistani intelligence operatives for the past few years, according to the report.

These operatives, posing as women, allegedly lured him into sharing classified details on defence operations, communication systems, machinery, security apparatus, office layouts, and information about senior officials, the New Indian Express report said.

In exchange, he received payments in Bitcoin worth approximately ₹25,000, it added.

To evade detection, Chandra and the operatives allegedly used a shared email account, communicating through draft messages rather than direct emails.

Chandra brought pen drives into the workplace—despite strict prohibitions, according to the report.

He was single when he first established contact with the operatives and got married recently.

Military Intelligence (MI) uncovered Chandra’s activities, prompting BEL to form a fact-finding committee.

Based on MI's input, he was suspended on Thursday morning. He is currently under interrogation by the committee, along with officers from MI, the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and State Intelligence (SI).