Pune: More than two weeks after 59-year-old Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Pradeep Kurulkar was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), for alleged sharing of sensitive information “with a Pakistan Intelligence Operative (PIO)”, it is being alleged that it was his attraction to the woman spy which led him to do so, ThePrint has learnt.
While a honey trap is suspected, sources in the ATS told ThePrint that there is as yet no proof to suggest that Kurulkar was blackmailed.
“ATS is currently investigating the matter. Now we have to investigate the nature of the information passed. How sensitive is the information needs to be determined,” Tushar Doshi, superintendent of police, Maharashtra ATS told ThePrint.
The ATS has digital evidence against Kurulkar, including details of WhatsApp chats, messages, and even video calls with the alleged PIO, according to his remand order accessed by ThePrint.
The scientist, who worked as director, research and development establishment (engineers) (R&DE (E)) in DRDO was arrested on 3 May, under the Official Secrets Act 1923.
According to sources in the ATS, Kurulkar, a Pune resident, came in touch with the alleged PIO about a year ago and became close to her. The probe has found that owing to his attraction to her, he started boasting of his work to her, in a probable attempt to impress her, the sources added.
An ATS officer in the know of the case said that the woman did not reveal her identity in their chats, calls and video calls, but introduced herself as ‘Zara Dasgupta’, a London resident.
According to the officer, the scientist has said during interrogation that he was interested in a long-term relationship with her and she would send him explicit photographs — without exposing her face — in exchange for sensitive information. The daily duration of chats can’t be exactly ascertained, but he would even talk to her late into the night.
“He shared the information with the hope that they might meet soon. He was not blackmailed and willingly shared the information,” the officer added.
A second highly placed officer from ATS told ThePrint that Kurulkar allegedly shared sensitive information related to the Brahmos and Agni missiles and anti-satellite missiles with her.
According to ATS sources, central intelligence agencies which keep track of suspected Pakistani IP addresses found one used in Kurulkar’s case and alerted the DRDO. Following an internal inquiry in February, the DRDO informed the ATS about the case on 2 May. Kurulkar was arrested by ATS on 3 May.
The first ATS officer quoted above told ThePrint that Kurulkar was married and has a son, living in Germany. His wife is a dental surgeon and the probe has as yet revealed no tension between the scientist and his wife.
ThePrint reached Kurulkar’s family through his lawyer, advocate Rhishikesh Ganu, but Ganu conveyed to ThePrint that the family was in shock and disturbed and not willing to talk at this moment.
“The matter is currently under investigation and sensitive. Right now the ATS is looking for remand. This is all based on electronic evidences. After the remand [period] is over, I will compile everything and study this further. We are fully cooperating with the [investigating] agencies,” Ganu told ThePrint.
ThePrint has reached DRDO over email for comment. The article will be updated once a comment is received.
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Scientist in spy net
According to information available on the DRDO website, Kurulkar was born in 1963 and joined DRDO in 1988 after completing his Bachelor’s degree (BE) in Electrical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune, (COEP) in 1985 in first class with ‘Distinction’.
He followed this up with advance study in Power Electronics at IIT Kanpur. His area of specialisation is design and development of missile launchers, military engineering equipment, advanced robotics and mobile unmanned systems for military applications.
At DRDO, he worked on various key projects such as ground systems for the Akash missile. He was a key member of Akash team and played a major role in the design, development and production of Akash launchers and mission-critical ground systems, according to the website.
He was also part of the Agni missile project, and designed, developed and delivered a number of military engineering systems and equipment, including the medium range surface to air missile (MRSAM), the Nirbhay subsonic cruise missile system and others.
Along with being a part of various development projects, Kurulkar was responsible for the export of DRDO-developed products, equipment and technologies to friendly foreign countries, the DRDO website added.
A recipient of multiple awards, such as the Science Day Award for Best Publication in 2000, the DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance in 2002 and others, he was also a fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India), life member of Indian National Society for Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (INSARM), member of the Fluid Power Society of India (FPSI), and Robotics Society of India. He is also a life member of the Institute of Smart Structures and Systems (ISSS).
According to media reports, Kurulkar was a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) supporter and was often seen at the organisation’s events.
Interestingly, the second ATS officer mentioned above said the unit conducts seminars on the DRDO campus on how to avoid being honey-trapped. One was conducted during this time last year and Kurulkar could have been a part of that seminar, the officer said.
The probe so far
According to sources in the Maharashtra ATS, the agency is not ruling out possible espionage by Kurulkar.
The first ATS officer also told ThePrint that Kurulkar might have exchanged more sensitive information with the alleged PIO via other channels including email correspondence.
His foreign visits, about which he would inform the DRDO, are also under scrutiny. He traveled on diplomatic passport to at least six countries — China, Nepal, Malaysia, Mauritius, South Africa, and Kenya — highly placed sources in the ATS told ThePrint.
He had informed DRDO about his official visits, but he had also gone trekking to Kailash Manasarovar, Everest base camp, which was not a part of the official visit, the second ATS officer told ThePrint.
Whether he came in contact with any person during those visits needs to be investigated thoroughly, the first ATS officer added.
ATS sources said that while he would sometimes be accompanied by his family on his official visits, the DRDO would be informed about this.
“Prima facie, it doesn’t look like he met the PIO in any of those visits, but possibility cannot be ruled out,” the first ATS officer said.
On Monday, senior police inspector Sujata Tanawade told a sessions court in Pune that a second mobile recovered from the accused, was sent to the forensic lab for testing in February, but since the phone could not be opened by them, it was brought back to ATS where it was opened with the help of Kurulkar.
The contents inside the phone need to be scanned and verified, Tanawade told the court.
Ganu told the court, however, that “the phone was with the ATS since February. Why did they not try to confront him earlier?”
The court was hearing a plea for his remand. Kurulkar was remanded to 14-days judicial custody Tuesday.
Kurulkar’s bank statement and other financial transactions need to be investigated for any financial trail, the first ATS officer told ThePrint.
The accused also allegedly came in contact with multiple other women at the DRDO guest house and it needs to be probed whether any of them had any connection with the alleged PIO, the officer added.
On Monday, Tanawade told the court that statement of a witness in Kurulkar’s case, had been recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), and a copy was presented to the court.
The witness, identified as Nikhil Shende in court, is a corporal in the Air Force who is said to have recruited under the sports quota.
According to a third officer familiar with the investigation, the same alleged PIO allegedly contacted the corporal seven-eight months ago, probably in the hope of extracting information from him, after seeing his pictures on Facebook. The corporal had identified himself as someone associated with the Air Force in the photos.
“However, since he was a junior officer, we do not suspect any crucial information was shared by him. However, internal inquiry is being conducted on him. That is a separate case,” the officer said.
Tanawade told the court that the link between the corporal’s case and Kurulkar’s case is that the corporal allegedly provided the WhatsApp OTP of an Indian number to the suspected Pakistani spy. The spy is believed to have later used that number to message Kurulkar, “Why have you blocked me?”
It was the finding of this message on Kurulkar’s mobile which alerted the investigators to the corporal’s alleged involvement, sources said.
According to Tanawade, Kurulkar told the ATS during the probe that sometime in January-February he had blocked the alleged PIO, so she is suspected to have used another number to message him.
“Now we need to see if there is any connection between the two cases,” the officer Tanawade said.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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