IAF officer caught in honey-trap after DRDO scientist

[ad_1]

New Delhi: DRDO Lab Director Dr. After Pradeep Kurulkar, now an Indian Air Force officer’s name has also surfaced in spying for Pakistani intelligence agencies. The DRDO scientist is currently in the custody of the Mumbai ATS and based on his interrogation, the identity of the Air Force officer posted in Bengaluru has been revealed. Air Force officials have also interrogated him intensively. After the ATS, the statement of the Air Force officer has now been recorded before the First Class Magistrate in the Shivajinagar court.

An investigation by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has revealed that honey-trapped DRDO scientist Dr Pradeep Kurulkar and Air Force officer Nikhil Shende were contacted to obtain sensitive information through a fake account named ‘Zara Dasgupta’. ATS has revealed in a special court in Mumbai that apart from Kurulkar, Pakistani intelligence has also targeted Air Force officer Nikhil Shende in a similar honey trap. Shende, stationed in Bengaluru, is being interrogated by Air Force officials. He has also given his statement to the ATS, which has been recorded before the First Class Magistrate in Shivajinagar Court.

ATS senior police inspector Sujata Tanawade told the special court that Air Force officer Nikhil Shende has not been implicated as an accused in the case, but technical investigation has revealed that the messages were sent to Kurulkar and Shende from Pakistani IP addresses. Investigations have found several e-mails sent to Kurulkar from Pakistan, in which he is suspected of sharing sensitive information compromising national security. A technical analysis of the laptop and mobile phone seized from a DRDO scientist has been done.

The director scientist of the DRDO laboratory in Pune was arrested on May 3. Kurulkar told ATS that he received a message on WhatsApp in October last year. He was addressed by a false name in the message. To this Kurulkar replied on WhatsApp that I am not him, but Pradeep Kurulkar. After this, WhatsApp chatting started between the two. Kurulkar said that in the WhatsApp chat, the woman described herself as an Indian living in London and expressed hatred against Pakistan. The conversation between the two continued till February 2023.

Intelligence officials alerted DRDO that the number used to chat with Kurulkar had a Pakistani IP, and DRDO’s vigilance team investigated before reporting the complaint to ATS. Scientist Kurulkar was in the honey trap and shared information with Pakistani intelligence officials. The investigation also revealed that the scientist had shared a photo of the missile and details of some local addresses, besides some of his personal photos.