By Pradip R Sagar
Published: 26th Apr 2015 06:00:00 AM -The Sunday Standard
It’s akin to contract killing of the country’s defence research establishments. With their easy access to classified and secret information, thousands of people working on contractual or temporary basis in India’s top secret defence projects have turned out to be the biggest threat to national security. A spate of arrests for spying has alarmed the government. But the country’s premier defence research agency—Defence Research and Development Organisation—has a strength of more than 50,000 temporary or casual employees who have complete access to all its classified and research activities.
The recent arrest of a photographer employed on contractual basis at DRDO’s Integrated Test Range in Chandipur (Odisha) for passing confidential information on various missiles test-fired from Wheeler Island to his ISI conduit in Kolkata has raised the alarm bells in the corridors of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Soon after, a contractual employee working for the MoD was picked up by the Delhi Police for espionage. The issue put South Block in panic mode and an alert was issued in March, which clearly said that ‘Contractual/ casual employees should not be posted in sensitive locations and not allowed to given access to the classified information’.
A senior defence ministry official recalled how a high-level inquiry was ordered during AK Antony’s tenure as defence minister in 2010 into the episode of giving out a critical missile design project to a private contractor by a top DRDO scientist.
Despite such cases in the past, over 55 laboratories of the DRDO, mandated to develop products and technologies to modernise our armed forces ranging from missiles to combat aircraft, have roped in over 50,000 casual employees to assist scientists. According to an insider, contractual employees are generally hired under two categories—technical and non-technical.
Dear PDD JI
If DRDO stop the making own rule than this activist stop. Now HEMRL Pune top scientist & security officer send one Ion to all division for use of mobile phone. as per Indian official secret act nobody authorized to use mobile phone in HEMRL but our great top scientist making own rule for top corrupt scientist & authorized to use phone in HEMRL. large number of scientist use mobile phone in HEMRL but not any action by our great Vigilance Officer Mr.R.D.Wasnik becuse he was one scientist. Mr. A.R.Kulkarni farzi security officer avoided. You post the A.D.Baraskar Fire Officer photo he was use mobile phone & HEMRL.Contractual/ casual employees making HMX, CL20, RDX, FOX7, & other high explosive product this is against Explosive Act.
TOP mobile USE in HEMRL
1.Security department
2.Admin section.
3.Fire section.
4.MT. section & MTO
5.MMD division
I told you nobody can take any action on this activist.
Defence Secrets in not only Danger but also harm to defence top secrets & help to our enemy.
In DRL tezpur casual labors of contractors working no police varification and identiy card also. Most of them were muslim and may be foreign nationals. Not asked for police record or identy card because director in contractor side. Great danger spying of organisation like orrissa.
contractual employee supplier contractor 1. Viswat Chimerical ( Dr.H.S.Singh Ex Director HEMRL)
2.HYDRO PNEUMATIC ENGG (HYD)P. LTD.(Dr.A.S.Rao Ex Director HEMRL ) manage the tender through PP Singh Sc ‘F’
another channel is in the name of export and consultancy