By Girish Linganna
May 17: Dark storms brew over the arrest of Dr Pradeep Kurulkar, 59, director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab in Pune and a resident of Kothrud, who had been remanded in police custody until May 15. The Pune special court, on Monday, extended for a day till May 16 the police custody of Dr Kurulkar, who was arrested for passing on sensitive information to a Pakistani agent. Following Dr Kurulkar’s arrest, an offence under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act was registered against him.
Appealing for an extension of Dr Kurulkar’s custody, the prosecution said an analysis of his mobile phone call records was necessary. “The mobile phone had to be opened with the accused’s help as the police could not do so on their own,” the prosecution reportedly told the judge.
Dr Kurulkar was arrested on May 3 by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on charges of sharing confidential information about India’s defence systems with a Pakistani intelligence operative. Dr Kurulkar has denied the charges and has claimed he was “honey-trapped” by the Pakistani operative.
But, in a shocking turn, investigations seem to have revealed his involvement in deliberate espionage rather than in a honey-trap. The ATS claimed that it had discovered that Dr Kurulkar passed on confidential information that included files, photos and videos to Pakistan’s ISI operatives. The forensic report of the case has surfaced, shedding light on Dr Kurulkar’s use of an e-mail ID to communicate sensitive information to Pakistan. It has been revealed that Dr Kurulkar had encounters with women who are as yet unidentified at the DRDO guest house.
Officials have gone on record saying that all the contacts with whom Dr Kurulkar interacted through the e-mail address were Pakistan-based. Files, photos and videos were ostensibly shared through different social media platforms. It has been discovered that Dr Kurulkar travelled to six different countries using a government passport. The investigators will now delve deeper into his interactions during these trips to determine the extent to which he shared information.
The case is still under investigation and it is not clear if Dr Kurulkar will be convicted of the charges against him. However, the case has raised concerns about the security of India’s defence systems and the need for greater vigilance against espionage.
WHO IS DR PRADEEP KURULKAR?
Apart from being a senior scientist at the DRDO in Pune, India, Dr Pradeep Kurulkar is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and has over 30 years of experience in the field of aerospace engineering. He also received the DRDO Scientist of the Year Award in 2008.
Dr Kurulkar joined the DRDO in 1988 and has since held a variety of positions at the organisation, including those of Team Leader, Lead Designer and Director of Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) Laboratory in Pune. He made significant contributions to the DRDO working on a variety of projects, including the development of missile launchers, military engineering equipment and advanced robotics.
He was Lead Designer of the Akash surface-to-air missile system—one of the most advanced missile systems in India. He also played a key role in developing the Prithvi ballistic missile system, the Nag anti-tank guided missile system and the Arjun main battle tank.
Here are some additional details about Dr Kurulkar:
- He was born in Pune in 1962
- He received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune in 1984
- He joined DRDO in 1988
- He has held various positions at DRDO, including Director of the Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) laboratory in Pune
- He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (India)
- He has over 30 years of experience in the field of aerospace engineering
- He is married and has two children
(The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political analyst)