Rishi Chatterjee Malakar
Note: This story was updated at 12:18 p.m. March 9.
A California man was arrested by police and questioned by federal agents after he demanded tours of the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Friday evening, authorities said.
The Oak Ridge Police Department responded to the call at about 6:22 p.m. Friday. A man had been found trying to get into the New Hope Center at 602 Scarboro Road through a rear door, Oak Ridge Police Chief Jim Akagi said.
An employee at the New Hope Center confronted the man, who demanded a tour of the building, Akagi said.
After he was denied a tour, the man reportedly left the area in a maroon-colored Jeep sport utility vehicle bearing a Texas license plate.
Akagi said ORPD officers converged on the area in search of the vehicle and man. Within 15 minutes, they located the vehicle on Bethel Valley Road at the east portal of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory after it was stopped by ORNL security officers.
After being stopped, the driver demanded a tour of ORNL, the police chief said.
ORPD officers detained the driver, identified as Rishi Chatterjee Malakar, 24, of Fremont, California, for investigation. It was determined that Malakar’s California driver’s license was suspended, and he was subsequently arrested, Akagi said.
He said Malakar was transported to ORPD Headquarters, where he was interviewed by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office.
Malakar was later transported to the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on a charge of driving with a suspended license.
He remained jailed there on Saturday evening, and his bond has been set at $1,000, according to the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department website.
The New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above at night. (Photo by Y-12)
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