Following the shocking arrest of former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) director Pradeep Kurulkar by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), a protest was led by Prashant Jagtap, the NCP's Pune City President, on Tuesday.
In the protest, Jagtap slammed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for having someone like Kurulkar, who was a member of the organization, betraying the country's trust, especially when the RSS teaches "Desh Prem" (love for country). He called on the central government to take swift and strict action against Kurulkar in light of the charges against him.
Kurulkar's longstanding association with RSS
It should be noted that following the arrest of Pradeep Kurulkar, an old Facebook post by Kurulkar's friend had gone viral, claiming that the scientist was a member of RSS in Pune.
Additionally, in the interview given by Kurulkar last year on a YouTube channel, he spoke about his longstanding association with the RSS. Kurulkar revealed that his family had been involved with the RSS for generations, with his grandfather working as a volunteer and maintaining financial records of the Pune branch, the task was later done by Kurulkar's father. Kurulkar himself started attending the branch when he was just five years old and continued to be associated with it even after he became a mathematics and science teacher.
He was equivalent to Lieutenant General in Army
Kurulkar was an 'Outstanding Scientist' (equivalent to Lieutenant General in Army) while heading the Research & Development Establishment (Engineers) laboratory in Pune as its director.
As per the ATS sources, "Kurulkar had been communicating with the agent via WhatsApp voice messages and video calls since September 2022." "ATS has seized several electronic devices like mobile phones, laptops etc from Kurulkar and has been sent for forensic detailing. Kurulkar had deleted some of the WhatsApp chats with the PIO girl," the sources added.
A case has been filed against the scientist under Section 1923 of the Official Secrets Act 1923 and other relevant sections. Further probe is being done by the ATS Pune team.
