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posted by: Pragati Pal
Last updated: Jul 08, 2023 09:37 AM IST
Poona (Poona) (Poona), India
‘Dasgupta’ claimed to be a UK based software engineer whom I befriended by sending lewd messages and videos. ATS said in the charge sheet that during the investigation, its IP address was traced to Pakistan. (representative picture)
The Maharashtra Police Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) filed the indictment against Korolkar, who was the director of one of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratories in Pune, in a court here last week.
DRDO scientist Pradeep Korolkar was attracted to the Pakistani intelligence agent, who used the alias “Zara Dasgupta,” and spoke to her about Indian missile systems among other classified defense projects, the charge sheet said.
The Maharashtra State Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) filed a case against Korolkar, who was the director of one of the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) laboratories in Pune, in a court here last week.
He was arrested on May 3 under the Official Secrets Act and is now in judicial detention.
The indictment said that Korolkar and “Zara Dasgupta” were in contact via WhatsApp as well as audio and video calls.
‘Dasgupta’ claimed to be a UK based software engineer whom I befriended by sending lewd messages and videos. ATS said in the charge sheet that during the investigation, its IP address was traced to Pakistan.
The agency said the Pakistani agent had tried to obtain confidential and sensitive information on the Brahmos Launcher, Drone, UCV, Agni Missile Launcher and Military Bridging System, among others.
“Korolkar, who was attracted to her, stored DRDO’s confidential and sensitive information on his personal phone and then allegedly shared it with Zara,” the charge sheet said.
He said he spoke with her about various projects, including surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), drones, Brahmos and Agni Missile Launchers, and a UCV.
The two were in contact from June 2022 to December 2022, according to ATS.
Before the DRDO launched an internal investigation after finding out that his activities were suspicious, Korolkar blocked Zara’s number in February 2023. Soon, he received a WhatsApp message from another unknown Indian number, asking “Why did you block my number?” Chat logs also showed that he shared his personal and official schedules and locations even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to share them with anyone, according to the charge sheet.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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