The man was employed at a BrahMos unit near Nagpur, Maharashtra

A man employed with the Defence Research and Development Organisation was detained today on suspicion of leaking sensitive details about the nuclear-capable BrahMos cruise missile.

The DRDO employee was detained on charges of suspicion and is currently being questioned. Sources said that some suspicious material was recovered from his possession.

The man -- identified as Nishant Agarwal -- was detained from Maharashtra's Nagpur in a joint operation carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Military Intelligence, with the local police providing some logistical support.

Agarwal was employed at a BrahMos production centre near Nagpur since the last four years. He is suspected to have shared classified information and technical data about the BrahMos missile system with agencies from Pakistan.

Raids relating to the alleged espionage were ongoing as of last updating this report.

The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft, or land.

It is the fastest cruise missile in the world and was developed in a joint venture between the Russian Federation's NPO Mashinostroyeniya and India's DRDO.

Last year in November, the BrahMos missile helped India complete a 'Supersonic Cruise Missile Triad', i.e. an ability to fire the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile from land, air and sea.

The triad was achieved after an Indian Air Force Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet successfully launched a variant of the BrahMos missile from air.

(With inputs from Divyesh Singh in Mumbai)

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