E-Paper
Consent for conducting psychological analysis not required: ATS
Kurulkar was arrested under sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) by the ATS on May 3 for sharing the defence secrets of the country with the PIO
PUNE
The Maharashtra State Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday told the special court in Pune that consent is not required for conducting the ‘voice layer and psychological analysis’ test on Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Pradeep Kurulkar (59), who was arrested in an espionage case for his links to a Pakistani intelligence operative (PIO).
Kurulkar was arrested under sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) by the ATS on May 3 for sharing the defence secrets of the country with the PIO. The anti-terror agency had submitted two applications before the court, seeking Kurulkar’s consent for his polygraph test and voice layer and psychological analysis tests. The defence scientist had denied consent to the tests as his counsel Hrishikesh Ganu informed the court that carrying out the tests separately was not necessary citing that the communication took place over a mobile phone.
Prosecution lawyer Vijay Fargade said, “The ATS has made a submission before the court in writing that for the voice layer and psychological analysis test, consent of the accused is not required. It is not going to bring on record any material that will prejudice the court about the accused.”
Meanwhile, the ATS filed a chargesheet against Kurulkar on June 30. The chargesheet has revealed that Kurulkar was in touch with PIO identified as Zara Dasgupta through WhatsApp messages, including voice and video calls.
