Mumbai: ‘Arrested scientist was honey-trapped’

The awardwinning scientist arrested by the Maharashtra ATS on espionage charges Pradeep Kurulkar had shared with Pakistani agents confidential details regarding various missile systems and critical information pertaining to other projects he was leading Investigations revealed that Kurulkar may have been honeytrapped by Pakistani agentsKurulkar had also undertaken foreign visits which are currently being investigated ldquoWe are probing his foreign visits and also checking what kind of information he has shared and how damaging it isrdquo said an officer from the Maharashtra ATSHe had been put under surveillance after a Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO vigilance team noticed some suspicious activity on his part rdquoAll his activities and meetings outside the office premises were followed and some shocking details emergedrdquo said the officerAlso Read Thane Probe ordered private firm may lose asylum contractAccording to the DRDO website Kurulkar was outstanding in his work and had been appointed as the Director of the Research amp Development Establishment Engineers Kurulkar joined DRDO at the Combat Vehicles Research amp Development Establishment CVRDE at Avadi in 1988 after completing his Bachelorrsquos degree in electrical engineering in 1985 with distinction He followed up with advanced courses in power electronics from IIT Kanpur with a specialisation in drives and applications Kurulkar specialised in the design and development of missile launchers military engineering equipment advanced robotics and mobile unmanned systems for military applicationsHis profile on the DRDO website reads ldquoAs a project leader and system manager for Akash Ground Systems he has played a major role in the design development and production of Akash launchers and missioncritical ground systems His efforts have resulted in the release of production orders to the tune of R1000 crore for the launchers and other ground systems He also played a major role as a project director for the Agni Project developing road and rail versions of launchers and ground systems His key role in their development with users has resulted in the release of production to orders to the tune of R250 crore for the Agni ProjectrdquoThe website further states that Kurulkar as a team leader and lead designer played a major role in the design development and delivery of a number of military engineering systems and equipment These included missile launchers for the Nirbhay Subsonic Cruise Missile System On March 27 2019 DRDO successfully conducted Mission Shaktimdashan antisatellite missile test ldquoThe critical subsystem of this mission was the design and development of a ballistic missile launcher from concept to a deployable prototype The launcher was developed within three months under the leadership of Pradeep Kurulkar whose innovative execution and management techniques got the system ready in advance and also brought laurels to RampDE Engineers Punerdquo his profile reads Another achievement by Kurulkar was the successful development and implementation of electromechanical servo drive technology for highperformance military applications along with advanced products such as Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicles and intelligent robotic equipment for military applicationsAccording to the DRDO Kurulkar has a futuristic vision to make the country selfreliant in critical areas He received the Science Day Award for Best Publication in 2000 the DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in SelfReliance in 2002 the DRDO Award for Pathbreaking ResearchOutstanding Technology Development in 2008 for Akash the DRDO Award for Performance Excellence for the Medium Range SurfacetoAir Missile MRSAM in 2016 and the Award for Excellence of Technology by the Defence Manufacturers Association DEMA in 2016Kurulkar is a fellow of the Institution of Engineers India a life member of the Indian National Sociwety for Aerospace and Related Mechanisms INSARM a member of the Fluid Power Society of India FPSI and the Robotics Society of India He is also a life member of the Institute of Smart Structures and Systems ISSS