The police custody of 27-year-old Ravindra Verma –  who was arrested last week by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in an espionage case –  has been extended till Thursday.

Verma, who worked as a junior engineer at a private defence firm, is accused of sharing classified information related to 14 Indian Naval warships to Pakistan Intelligence Operatives (PIO).

On Monday, he was produced before Thane district court, where the ATS demanded an extension of his police custody by eight days. “But the judge extended his police custody by only three days,” said Verma’s defence lawyer, Advocate Rupali Shinde.