Pradeep Kurulkar, who worked as the director of one of the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Pune labs, was charged last week in court by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra police.
Kurulkar was allegedly attracted to a Pakistani Intelligence Operative who used the alias ‘Zara Dasgupta’ and discussed Indian missile systems and other classified defence projects, the chargesheet stated.
DRDO Scientist Leaks Classified Info
Kurulkar was arrested under the Official Secrets Act (of 1923) Sections 3 (spying) and 5 (wrongful transmission of information) on 3 May and is currently in judicial custody. According to the chargesheet, Kurulkar and ‘Zara Dasgupta’ spoke over WhatsApp and audio and video calls.
‘Dasgupta’ pretended to be a UK-based software developer and befriended Kurulkar by sending obscene texts and videos. According to the ATS, the two were in contact from June 2022 until December 2022.
During the inquiry, her IP address was tracked to Pakistan, according to the chargesheet.
DRDO scientist attracted to Pakistani agent ‘Zara’, revealed missile secrets to her: Maharashtra ATS https://t.co/TmCFjyJQur
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) July 8, 2023
The charge sheet revealed that the Pakistani spy attempted to obtain classified and sensitive information on the Brahmos Launcher, Drone, UCV, Agni Missile Launcher, and Military Bridging System, among other things.
“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 stated.
Just before DRDO initiated an internal probe, he blocked her number. Soon after, he received a WhatsApp message from another unknown Indian number asking, “Why you blocked my number?” Additionally, the charge sheet mentions that the chat records revealed that he disclosed his personal and professional schedules and locations with her despite knowing he was not permitted to share them with anyone.
Pakistani Spy ‘Zara Dasgupta’
According to ATS, the Pakistani agent created fake accounts under different names to communicate with Kurulkar. Zara Dasgupta and Juhi Arora were two of these names. The same operator also created accounts under these identities on messaging apps, using two other phone numbers with the +44 London area code.
‘Dasgupta’ further provided the senior scientist with her email address and password and persuaded him to install two malware-infected applications on his phone.
ATS reported that Kurulkar freely presented information regarding the Meteor missile, which is being developed at DRDO, the Brahmos missiles, the Rafael, Akash, and Astra missile systems, and the Agni-6 missile launcher, in which he was involved.
DRDO scientist honeytrapped by Pakistani agent for missile system info
— Swarajya (@SwarajyaMag) July 8, 2023
- DRDO scientist Kurulkat shared classified information with Pakistani agent 'Zara Dasgupta'
- Agent posed as UK engineer, communicated through WhatsApphttps://t.co/NYoH0ZZshr
Legal Proceedings
Kurulkar’s custody was extended till 21 July. The court has also ordered Kurulkar to provide a written statement in preparation for a polygraph test, as requested by the police.
ATS recorded nearly 203 testimonies, including staff members and officers from DRDO’s Research & Development Engineering (R&DE) in Pune and Delhi. Allegedly the spy agent had contacted a few of them. Additionally, ATS asked Kurulkar to undergo polygraph, voice layer and psychological analysis tests.
Kurulkar’s Role in DRDO
Kurulkar, who has been with the DRDO since 1988, has been instrumental in the design, development, and delivery of various types of military engineering systems and equipment, including the hyperbaric chamber, mobile power supply, and high-pressure pneumatic systems, as well as missile launchers.