E-Paper
Kurulkar espionage case: Court opens sealed electronic devices; first panch witness examined
Pradeep Kurulkar is accused of sharing classified defence information with a Pakistani woman allegedly working as a spy.
PUNE: The trial in the alleged espionage case against former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Pradeep Kurulkar continued on Tuesday, with a sessions court opening eight sealed packets containing electronic devices seized during the investigation and recording the testimony of the prosecution’s first panch witness.
Kurulkar is accused of sharing classified defence information with a Pakistani woman allegedly working as a spy.
The day-to-day trial is being conducted before Sessions Judge P.Y. Ladekar. Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar examined the panch witness to the seizure of electronic devices recovered during the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) investigation.
The court opened eight sealed packets containing a OnePlus mobile phone, charger, data cable, pen drive, HP hard disk, a OnePlus 10T phone returned by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), sealed letters, including one dated February 16, 2022, a gate pass, and other articles allegedly sent from Kurulkar’s office to the ATS office in Mumbai.
The prosecution led evidence on the seizure process and preparation of the panchnama.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Hrishikesh Ganu questioned the witness on the seizure process, including whether the devices were switched on or off and their condition at the time.
The witness said he had no technical qualification in cyber or computer science and had not received a written order appointing him as a panch witness. He also said no ownership documents of the phone were shown to him, the phone and charger were not verified in his presence, and he did not know what data was stored in the pen drive.
However, he maintained that all the articles were packed and sealed in his presence, labels were affixed before him and Kurulkar signed the packets during the seizure.
The examination and cross-examination concluded on Tuesday. The matter will be heard again on Wednesday, when the prosecution is expected to examine more witnesses.
