- The Maharashtra ATS filed the chargesheet against the DRDO scientist, arrested for providing confidential information to the Pakistani intelligence agency.
- As per the chargesheet he was attracted to the Pakistani Intelligence Operative who used the alias ‘Zara Dasgupta’ tried to get classified and sensitive information.
- The scientist and the agent have talked about surface-to-air missiles (SAM), drones, Brahmos and Agni Missile Launchers and UCV.
- As per the ATS, the two were in contact from June 2022 to December 2022.
- According to the DRDO website, Kurulkar is an outstanding Scientist who has taken over as Director of the Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) [R&DE(E)].
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) filed the chargesheet in Pune court against DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar, who was arrested in May for providing confidential information to the Pakistani intelligence agency. Kurulkar was the director of one of the labs of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in Pune. He was arrested on May 3 under the Official Secrets Act and is now in judicial custody.
In its chargesheet, the ATS said that Kurulkar was attracted to the Pakistani Intelligence Operative who used the alias ‘Zara Dasgupta’ and chatted with her about Indian missile systems among other classified defence projects. As per the chargesheet, Kurulkar and Zara Dasgupta were in contact through WhatsApp as well as voice and video calls.
The ATS said that Pakistani agent Dasgupta, who claimed to be a software engineer based in the UK, befriended Kurulkar by sending obscene messages and videos. During the investigation, her IP address was traced to Pakistan, the ATS said in the chargesheet.
The Pakistani agent tried to get classified and sensitive information regarding the Brahmos Launcher, Drone, UCV, Agni Missile Launcher and Military Bridging System, among other things, it said. “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 said.
It further said that the agent Kurulkar and Dasgupta has talked about various projects, including surface-to-air missiles (SAM), drones, Brahmos and Agni Missile Launchers and UCV. As per the ATS, the two were in contact from June 2022 to December 2022.
Just before the DRDO initiated an internal probe after his activities were found to be suspicious, Kurulkar blocked Zara’s number in February 2023. He soon received a WhatsApp message from another unknown Indian number, asking ‘Why you blocked my number?’
The chat records also showed that he shared his personal as well as official schedules and locations with her despite knowing that he was not supposed to share them with anyone, the chargesheet added.
According to the DRDO website, Kurulkar is an outstanding Scientist who has taken over as Director of the Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) [R&DE(E)], a premier Systems Engineering Laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
As Project Leader and System Manager for Akash Ground Systems, he has been a key member of the Akash team and has played a major role in the design, development and production of Akash Launchers and mission-critical Ground Systems. His efforts have resulted in the release of production orders to the tune of 1000 crores for the Akash Launchers and other Ground Systems. As a Project Director of SF, Agni Project, he steered the design and development of Road & Rail versions of Launchers & Ground systems. He has played a key role in its development with users and these efforts have resulted in the release of production orders to the tune of 250 crores for the Agni project.
(With inputs from agencies)
