KOLKATA: A scientist employed with the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) in Durgapur was arrested by the Durgapur police under Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking some documents. Thirty-four-year-old Rudra Pratap Bhattacharya is a resident of Dum Dum.He was arrested late on Sunday and produced in a court, which remanded him in police custody. "We have arrested him based on an FIR lodged last year," said Asansol Durgapur commissioner Laxmi Narayan Meena.Bhattacharya claimed he was being framed by the CMERI authorities. "I had come to know of several irregularities in the institute. So, they first transferred me to Ludhiana and then brought these false charges against me. I challenge anyone to check my mail account to see whether any data had been sent from my email or not," he said.According to DC (East) Abhishek Modi, the FIR was lodged by the institute director, Harish Hirani, last November. "It had named a journalist and mentioned unnamed people for leaking vital research information. We registered a case under Section 4 of the Official Secrets Act, along with IPC sections covering theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating, trespassing and forgery," said Modi.Police sources said a journalist had claimed to possess secret documents from the institute and informed Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) in Delhi, the apex body under which it works, about it. Based on the advice of CSIR, CMERI lodged the FIR. "We found evidence against the scientist and arrested him," claimed Modi.Hirani claimed, "We had not named any scientist in our FIR. He had moved court to stall his transfer but lost the case. Regarding irregularities, an independent probe is already on regarding the illegal cutting of trees on the campus."The police said they produced evidence in court and if the court was not convinced, it would not have sent the accused to police custody. "We believe the accused was taking help of others. We will question him," claimed a police source.

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