DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar chargesheeted in espionage case by Maharashtra Police
The Anti-Terrorism Squad had arrested him in May for allegedly falling for a honey trap by a Pakistani operative.
The Maharashtra Police on June 30 filed a chargesheet against Pradeep Kurulkar, former director at a key facility of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, or DRDO, for allegedly sharing sensitive information with a female Pakistani operative, reported PTI on Saturday.
He was the head of DRDO’s Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) laboratory when he shared information with the woman to establish intimate relations with her, the chargesheet has alleged, reported the Hindustan Times.
On May 3, the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Maharashtra Police had arrested Kurulkar under sections of the Official Secrets Act pertaining to spying and wrongful communication in a suspected case of honey trapping.
Kurulkar was a key member of several strategically significant DRDO projects including the nuclear-capable Agni missile and Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite missile test. He is currently under judicial custody in Pune’s Yerwada jail.
So far, the police have recorded statements of 203 witnesses, including DRDO officials and an Indian Air Force official who had also been allegedly contacted by the Pakistani operative.
The chargesheet alleges that Kurulkar was in contact with the Pakistani intelligence operative, who identified herself as Zara Dasgupta, between June 2022 and December 2022, reported PTI. The WhatsApp chats of the two included conversations on “BrahMos, Agni 6, Rustom [a medium altitude long-endurance unmanned air vehicle], surface to air missiles, unmanned combat air vehicles, drone projects”.
“Kurulkar, who was attracted to her, stored the classified and sensitive information of DRDO on his personal phone and then allegedly shared it with Zara,” the chargesheet alleged. The two were in contact on email and Instagram, and also over video calls through two applications suggested by the woman, “bingechat.net” and “cloudchat.net”, reported The Indian Express.
“By using the app, there might be a chance of malware been inserted in the mobile phone of the accused,” said the chargesheet. In forensic analysis of Kurulkar’s phone, DRDO had found a malware which was then reported to the Anti-Terrorism Squad, reported the Hindustan Times.
Kurulkar also shared names and other details of the chief executive officer of a private vendor working for the Indian Army, who is involved in the manufacture of robotic equipment for the military, reported the newspaper.
“Despite knowing that an enemy nation can seek more information and specific information related to the CEO’s working place and the nature of work and the equipment he manufactured for the Armed forces, Kurulkar shared the formation with the operative,” the chargesheet stated.
On June 21, the Anti-Terrorism Squad had submitted an application to a special court in Pune seeking permission to conduct a “voice layer and psychological analysis test” on the Kurulkar. However, on Friday, Kurulkar’s lawyer Rhishikesh Ganu opposed the request citing violation of his fundamental rights, reported The Indian Express.
