Indian scientist Pradeep Kurulkar is in custody after allegedly leaking state secrets to a Pakistani agent.

According to a story by the ‘India Times’, Kurulkar was befriended by a woman named ‘Zara Dasgupta’ who posed as a Software engineer from the UK. The contact was initially established through ‘obscene videos’ sent by Zara and began as a friendship, according to the Times.

Kurulkar had access to sensitive information as a director of the Defence Research and Developmkent Organisation’s lab in Pune. He was reportedly asked for information about Brahmos Launcher, Drone, UCV, Agni Missile Launcher and Military Bridging System and other projects by Zara.

Kurulkar is accused of storing the information on his phone and sending it to Zara via WhatsApp. The two were also in contact over voice and video calls.

The scientist also shared details about his location and his official schdule.

The contact lasted from June 2022 to December 2022. Kurulkar later blocked her on his phone but was approached by Zara from another number.

He was arrested on May 3 and is now under custody pending an investigation. The India Times also claimed that Zara’s IP address had been traced to Pakistan by the Indian authorities.