A day after four naval officers were found leaking sensitive information on social networking websites, Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma on Thursday said action will be taken against the officers if needed.

However, he was yet to get the details of the case, the Chief said.

The Defence Ministry also sought details from the Navy about the case. The Ministry  had standing instructions that officers should refrain from giving service related details on the social websites.

Four officers of the rank of Commander posted in the Mumbai-based Western Command were found by a Board of Inquiry allegedly posting operational details like location of warships and types of weapons and armament deployed on these platforms on the social websites. These sites were accessed by Indians and some foreigners.

The Navy came to know about the leakage some months back and began tracking the four officers and the Board of Inquiry was instituted in December last year to find out the veracity of the reports.  The inquiry found that the four officers had posted the operational details and were in possession of classified information on their personal computers.

While the Board recommended action against them, sources said the final findings of the inquiry were yet to be firmed up as the Navy was trying to ascertain the nature of alleged leaks and whether they compromised  security.  Officials also pointed out that the Navy itself had detected the leakage and initiated probe.

Western Command is operationally the most sensitive and important command of the Navy as it takes care of the crucial sea lanes running across Arabian Sea and faces Pakistan.  Sources admitted the alleged leakage of classified information was indeed sensitive and therefore the Board of Inquiry was probing into all angles.