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Last updated: Jul 08, 2023 at 05:59 AM IST
DRDO scientist Pradeep Korolkar was arrested on May 3 under the Official Secrets Act and is now in judicial custody.
DRDO scientist arrested for sharing classified information with Pakistani agent posing as Zara Dasgupta in exchange for obscene messages and videos
DRDO scientist Pradeep Korolkar was attracted to the Pakistani intelligence officer who used the alias “Zara Dasgupta” and spoke to her about Indian missile systems among other secret defense projects, according to the indictment. 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 Poona, 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.
It added that the Pakistani agent tried to obtain classified and sensitive information regarding 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 indictment read.
She said he spoke with her about various projects including surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), drones, Brahmos, Agni Missile Launchers and UCVs, and the two were in contact from June 2022 to December 2022, according to the ATS. Just before DRDO launched an internal investigation after finding his activities suspicious, Korolkar blocked Zara’s number in February 2023.
Soon, he received a WhatsApp message from another unknown Indian number, stating “Why did you block my number”. The indictment said chat logs also showed he shared his personal and official schedules and locations even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to share them with anyone.
(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
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