FBI arrests 2 of Indian origin, accuses 2 Indian govt officials in sale of missile tech

New Delhi, New York, MARCH 30: The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested two persons of Indian origin running an electronics company in South Carolina and referred to two unnamed Indian Government officials as “co-conspirators” in the alleged export of sensitive dual-use items from the US to three Indian entities: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) for possible use in production of missiles and missile-launch vehicles, Aeronautical Development Establishment for use in the development of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and Bharat Dynamics Limited for a defence project.

According to the FBI, these items include special heat-resistant computer chips with applications in missile guided systems, capacitors, semi-conductors, rectifiers, resistors and microprocessors for use in aircraft navigation systems. The key charge: the items were exported between 2002 and 2006 in violation of licencing rules and the US Arms Export Control Act.

The two arrested are Parthasarathy Sudarshan, who founded Cirrus Electronics in Singapore in 1997 and was the CEO and Managing Director when he moved to the US in 2004 with a legal residence permit. And Mythili Gopal, a permanent US resident, who launched Cirrus (USA) around November 2003 at Simpsonville, South Carolina.

Two Indian government officials have also been mentioned as “co-conspirators” and one of them, the FBI claims, is an official posted at the Indian embassy in the United States. The other is said to be an official of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), an entity of the Defence Ministry, who allegedly travelled to the US for inspection of items being allegedly procured for Tejas.

While India is studying the details, top officials in South Block told The Indian Express that the items identified are “not exactly hi-tech” They also cited the fact that the US is involved in the Chandrayaan project of which VSSC is a key participant.

Given that there have been cases of blacklisting former Indian scientists, entities and private firms in the recent past, the hope is that this will not emerge as a major stumbling block.

However, this is a rare occasion when Indian government officials and entities have been directly identified as accused.

“Sudarshan, 46, and Gopal, 36, both of Simpsonville, South Carolina, were arrested on Friday, March 23, and had their initial appearances in the U.S. District Court in Greenville, South Carolina. The arrests were the result of a 15-count indictment that a grand jury in the District of Columbia had returned and that was unsealed on Friday. They will have their first court appearances in the District of Columbia probably sometime next week,” Channing Philips, spokesperson for the US Attorney for District of Columbia, told The Indian Express today.

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