Honey-trapped DRDO scientist shared details about Indian missile systems with Pakistani agent

The Indian state of Maharashtra’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS) filed a chargesheet against Pune city-based Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist, Pradeep Kurulkar who was allegedly lured by a Pakistani agent using the alias ‘Zara Dasgupta,’ reported PTI on Saturday (July 8). The DRDO scientist shared sensitive details about India’s missile systems as well as the country’s drone and robotics programmes with the female Pakistan-based intelligence operative, according to the charge sheet.

Kurulkar was arrested on May 3, on espionage charges while the charge sheet by the authorities in Maharashtra was submitted a week ago. The ATS has claimed that Kurulkar engaged in conversations with ‘Zara Dasgupta’ about Indian missile systems and other classified defence projects.

The now-former director of the DRDO (Engineers), the 60-year-old Kurulkar is currently in judicial custody. According to the ATS, Kurulkar and ‘Zara Dasgupta’ were in contact via WhatsApp and also via voice and video calls. In the chargesheet, the anti-terrorism squad claimed to have found “explosive” chats between the scientist and the Pakistani agent. 

‘Dasgupta,’ who had claimed to be a United Kingdom-based software engineer, allegedly befriended Kurulkar by sending him obscene messages and videos. It was only after the investigation, that it was found that her IP address was tracked to Pakistan, said the ATS in the nearly 2000-page charge sheet. 

“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, as quoted by PTI. The ATS also found chats which showed Kurulkar sharing his personal as well as official schedules and locations with her which he was not supposed to share with anyone. 

According to the charge sheet, Kurulkar chatted with the Pakistani agent about classified information regarding the BrahMos Launcher, Drone, Unmanned Combat Vehicles (UCV), Agni Missile Launcher and Military Bridging System, among other things. 

The ATS also alleged that the Pakistani agent created multiple fake accounts to engage with Kurulkar two of which were under the names Zara Dasgupta and Juhi Arora. In his messages, the DRDO scientist spoke about, “BrahMos, Agni 6, Rustom (a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned air vehicle), surface to air missiles, unmanned combat air vehicles, drone projects”.

The DRDO scientist was arrested, back in May, on allegations of espionage. In an official statement, he was accused of misusing “his post thereby compromising sensitive government secrets, which could pose a threat to India’s security if it falls into the hands of the enemy nation.” 

ALSO READ | Who is Vivek Raghuvanshi, ex-Navy commander-turned-journalist accused of spying?

According to the ATS, the two were in contact from June 2022 to December 2022. It was not until DRDO initiated an internal probe after his activities were found to be suspicious, Kurulkar blocked Dasgupta’s number in February, earlier this year. 

During a forensic analysis of Kurular’s phone, experts at the DRDO also found malware and reported it to ATS. The DRDO scientist is currently in Pune’s Yerwada jail. 

(With inputs from agencies)

 

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.