In a suspected case of honey trap, Maharashtra’s ATS arrested Pradeep Kurulkar of DRDO on May 3. The ATS has alleged that the woman PIO wanted to procure confidential information from Kurulkar about various DRDO and defence projects in India.
On Wednesday, Pradeep Kurulkar, the scientist with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), filed a bail application before a special court in Pune. He claimed that the information he is alleged to have shared with a woman ‘Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO)’ was not “confidential” but available in the public domain.
In a suspected case of honey trap, Maharashtra’s Anti Terrorism Squad arrested Kurulkar, who was the head of DRDO’s Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) – R & DE (E) laboratory, on May 3 under Official Secrets Act (OSA) pertaining to spying and wrongful communication with a woman PIO. Days after his arrest, DRDO suspended Kurulkar from service.
Kurulkar’s lawyer, Rhishikesh Ganu, said that the bail application describes in detail how the information, which, according to (ATS), is “confidential” and was shared with a Pakistani woman, was available in the public domain.
According to the ATS, the PIO who identified herself as ‘Zara Dasgupta’ came in contact with Kurulkar through WhatsApp, telling him that she was a software engineer based in the UK.
She allegedly lured Kurulkar by sending several obscene messages, voice notes and video calls. An investigation revealed that Kurulkar and Zara had multiple conversations between June 10, 2022, and February 24, 2023. ATS has named Zara as a co-accused in the case.
The ATS has alleged that Zara wanted to procure confidential information from Kurulkar about various DRDO and defence projects in India. On the other hand, the ATS stated that Kurulkar got “attracted” to her and allegedly misused his position to share confidential information with her through “WhatsApp messages, voice, and video calls.”
Advocate Ganu stated that the prosecution is relying on electronic evidence, which includes data retrieved from cell phones and other devices seized from the accused. “Entire data and electronic devices are in possession of ATS. Kurulkar cannot tamper with the devices, as the DRDO seized them on February 24, 2023, and the ATS further took them over for probe. The ATS has filed the chargesheet in this case. So we have applied for bail,” the lawyer argued.
During previous hearings, Kurulkar claimed that conducting these tests is in violation of his fundamental rights enshrined under Articles 20 and 21 of the Constitution and denied consent.
The ATS argued that they should allow the “voice layer and psychological analysis” test without the accused’s consent, as it was not essential. The court has not passed an order in this matter.
SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS
