New Delhi: With the arrest of Ravi Shankaran, the key accused in the Naval War Room Leak case, the focus now shifts to his extradition to India.
The extradition proceedings have already begun. Four hearings have already taken place at the Westminster magistrate's court. The next hearing is on the June 28.
The CBI has sought his early extradition.
Forty-six-year old Shankaran, a former naval officer, has already been given bail by a UK court, though he will continue to be in police custody.
Shankaran was arrested by Metropolitan Police in London on April 21 and the CBI was informed.
For the CBI, Shankaran's arrest is a major breakthrough in the case and it hopes that he would be extradited to India as soon as possible.
CBI officials said once he was deported from the UK, he would be questioned at length about his involvement in the case.
Shankaran had been on the run for nearly five years.
The Navy War Room leak case made headlines when it was discovered that classified data stored in computers in South Block had been stolen.
Shankaran had allegedly passed on vital information to some arms dealers. According to the CBI, as many as 7,000 pages of classified information from were leaked out.
Shankaran was then chargesheeted and three naval officers and an Indian Air Force officer were sacked soon after.
An Interpol Red Corner notice was issued against him in 2006. In the same year, he was declared a proclaimed offender.
The government revoked his passport and approached many European countries including the UK for his arrest, but Shankaran managed to give a slip to London Police and was reportedly roaming in countries like France, Italy and Denmark.