Pune, 3rd August 2023: The arrested Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist, Pradeep Kurulkar, has moved a bail application before the special court in Pune. Kurulkar, who is facing charges of espionage, claims that the information he shared with the alleged ‘Pakistan Intelligence Operative (PIO)’ was already available in the public domain and not confidential, as asserted by the investigation agency.
During the court hearing, the accused’s lawyer pointed out that the chargesheet has already been filed by the ATS team, and the electronic devices have been seized as evidence. Thus, the information cannot be tampered with by Kurulkar. The court has scheduled the next hearing for August 9 after considering arguments from both sides.
Pradeep Kurulkar’s arrest came after the ATS team conducted an investigation into a case of espionage. It is alleged that he was honeytrapped by a Pakistani Intelligence Operative and shared sensitive information about India’s defence projects during their conversation. Kurulkar was the head of Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) – R & DE (E) laboratory and was subsequently suspended by DRDO following his arrest. He is currently in judicial custody as the case unfolds.
