He thought he was flirting, India says he was leaking BrahMos, Rafale and Agni-6 secrets to Pakistan

One of India's senior defence scientists is standing trial after investigators accused him of falling into an alleged honeytrap that eventually led to the leaking of sensitive information about some of the country's most advanced military programmes.

According to Indian investigators, Pradeep Kurulkar, a former senior official at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), allegedly shared confidential information through WhatsApp with a woman calling herself "Zara Dasgupta."

She claimed to be a London-based software engineer.

India's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), however, alleges she was actually working for Pakistani intelligence.

Investigators claim what started as casual online conversations gradually turned into discussions about India's strategic defence projects, including the BrahMos cruise missile, Agni-6 missile programme, Rafale fighter jets, Meteor missiles, combat drones and unmanned aerial vehicle projects.

According to the ATS chargesheet, Kurulkar allegedly told the woman he possessed the "initial design report" for all versions of the BrahMos missile and also discussed progress on the Agni-6 programme.

Authorities further allege that he shared details about his official meetings, work schedule, travel plans and colleagues.

Investigators claim the exchanges were voluntary and not the result of blackmail.

The ATS also alleges the woman persuaded Kurulkar to install mobile applications later identified by forensic experts as malware.

Although investigators say Kurulkar deleted chats and media files before his phone was seized in 2023, forensic experts reportedly recovered portions of the conversations during the investigation.

Following the probe, he was removed from his position as DRDO director, suspended and arrested.

The prosecution says it has built its case using more than 60 witnesses, around 140 documents, forensic reports and electronic evidence.

Kurulkar has denied the allegations.

His legal team argues that the information referenced in the case was already available in the public domain and therefore could not be considered classified.

He is currently facing charges related to espionage, communicating with foreign agents and the alleged unlawful sharing of official information.