ISRO espionage case

Last updated

ISRO espionage case involved discredited allegations of espionage made by Indian investigation agencies in the 1990s against some scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). [1] Indian intelligence agencies and the Kerala police arrested some senior aerospace engineers on charges of attempting to sell confidential documents containing designs of indigenous rocket engine developed by ISRO. [2]

Contents

The most prominent victim was aerospace engineer Nambi Narayanan, who later alleged that the United States and CIA may have involved in fabricating the case, [3] [4] thereby preventing India from entering into multi-billion dollar commercial space missions. [5] Indian National Congress (INC) politicians A. K. Antony and Oommen Chandy led 'A'-group caucus inside the INC in Kerala. Senior Kerala Police officials like Raman Srivastava, [6] Siby Mathews and the Malayalam newspaper Malayala Manorama played a major role in sensationalising [7] [8] and politicising the allegations made against the scientists. [9] [10]

In April 1996, the Central Bureau of Investigation concluded that there was no case to be made and the Supreme Court of India stopped the Kerala government from pursuing further investigation. [11] The political fallout from the case caused K. Karunakaran to resign as chief minister of Kerala in March 1995. [12] The ISRO employees, who had been subject to arrest, pursued redress in courts, with Nambi Narayanan being awarded around 19 lakh [13] in total as compensation. In 2021, the Supreme Court ordered a probe into the actions of involved police officers, who filed counter-suits alleging corruption on the part of CBI investigators. Siby Mathews IPS was the fourth accused in the espionage fabrication case and accused of ordering the alleged torture of Nambi Narayanan. He is fighting a case in the Supreme Court against a CBI plea to cancel Mathews's anticipatory bail in the fake case. [14] [15]

Arrests

In October 1994, during a visa verification check at Thiruvananthapuram, police found the explanations of two Maldivian women, Mariam Rasheeda and Fauziyya Hassan, suspicious. A diary written in Dhivehi language was found in a raid on Rasheeda's lodging. Police said that it indicated she was a member of the National Security Service of Maldives. A first information report filed by police mentioned instances of Rasheeda contacting D Sasikumaran, then a general manager at Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre. [lower-alpha 1] A report that Rasheeda and Fauziyya Hassan were frequent visitors to the Pakistani embassy in Maldives spurred an investigation by Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officials. The two women were arrested for overstaying their visa as well as under the Official Secrets Act. Based on their interrogation, which was recorded on video, Sasikumaran and K Chandrasekhar, a representative of Glavkosmos, were arrested in November. In the interrogation, it was alleged that Narayanan and Sasikumaran were to collect documents; Chandrasekhar would arrange logistics and payments; and would transfer the documents to Alexi Vassive of Ural Aviation, who would forward it to Glavkosmos. Sasikumaran claimed that Narayanan and Vassive had already brokered a transfer of drawings of Viking engine to Brazil in 1989–90. A Pakistani scientist and a woman working with Pakistani High Commission in Colombo were also named. [16]

Between 21 November and 1 December 1994, four people associated with the ISRO; D. Sasikumaran, K. Chandrasekhar, Nambi Narayanan and Sudhir Kumar Sharma were arrested by the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police; [17] Narayanan had submitted a request for voluntary retirement from ISRO a month prior to his arrest. [18] The Kerala Police special team headed by then DIG Siby Mathews had arrested Narayanan on charges of espionage. [17] [19] Police recorded that confidential documents from LPSC were recovered from Sasikumaran's house the next day. The police alleged that $50,000 was given to Sasikumaran and Narayanan through Hassan's daughter between January and September 1994. Chandrasekhar mentioned the name of Ravindra Reddy as being involved in business with Russians. Reddy was alleged to be a business partner of Prabhakar Rao, son of the then prime minister Narasimha Rao. Because of the international aspects of the case, Siby Mathews, who was heading the police team, requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take up the case, and the CBI did so on 4 December. At the time, CBI was also investigating other cases related to the Rao family, such as the Jain hawala case. [16]

CBI investigation

Narayanan spent 50 days in jail. He claimed that officials from the Intelligence Bureau, who initially interrogated him, wanted him to make false accusations against the top brass of ISRO. He alleged that two IB officials had asked him to implicate A. E. Muthunayagam, his boss and then Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). He said that when he refused to comply, he was tortured until he collapsed and was hospitalised. [20] He said his main complaint against ISRO is that it did not support him. K. Kasturirangan, who was ISRO chairman at the time, stated that ISRO could not interfere in a legal matter.[ citation needed ] He wrote that the director of CBI Vijaya Rama Rao met him in jail on 8 December (four days after the case was transferred), when he explained to the director that the drawings of rockets and engines was not classified. He wrote that the CBI director wondered how the case has gotten so far and apologized in that meeting. [16]

A fake petition filed in Kerala High Court for the arrest of Srivastava was dismissed by the court on the grounds that the court did not have powers to direct inclusion of persons in cases without any evidence. But the court had examined three tapes of the interrogation and dismissed allegations of torture by IB that the suspects had made to CBI investigators. The judges also found fault with CBI's failure to investigate leads suggested by Kerala police as well as its heavy dependence on the retractions by the accused. The court order precipitated Srivastava's suspension. [16] K. Karunakaran, who was criticized both by other Congressional factions and the opposition for seemingly shielding Srivastava, [21] resigned as chief minister and A. K. Antony assumed the post. [22] This factional struggle within the Congress in Kerala and within the Kerala Police ensured that Nambi Narayanan was not able to obtain justice for a long time. [23] Some of the critical comments by the High Court were later removed by the Supreme Court, when it adjudicated a special leave petition by the CBI. [24]

In April 1996, before the 1996 Indian general election, CBI submitted a closure report to the chief judicial magistrate of Ernakulam district, [25] saying that there was no espionage and that the testimonies of suspects were coerced by torture. [16] :1 In May 1996, Kerala elected a new LDF government. Amid attention on lacunae in CBI closure report, a challenge of the report in Kerala High Court by S. Vijayan [lower-alpha 2] [25] and continuing pressure from his own party, the new chief minister E. K. Nayanar revoked the permission granted previously to CBI to investigate the case and enjoined Kerala police to take it up again. But Supreme Court [lower-alpha 3] stopped it in April 1998, pointing out that the Indian Official Secrets Act limits the powers of state police to conduct further investigation. [26] It said that "the CBI found that no case had been made out" and ordered the Kerala government to pay Rs 100,000 each to the six accused. [lower-alpha 4] [24] In September 1999, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) passed strictures against the government of Kerala for having damaged Narayanan's distinguished career in space research along with the physical and mental torture to which he and his family were subjected. After the dismissal of charges against them, the two scientists, Sasikumar and Narayanan were transferred out of Thiruvananthapuram and were given desk jobs. [27]

Redressal suits

In 2001, the NHRC ordered the government of Kerala to pay Nambi Narayanan a compensation of 10  lakh. [28] He retired in 2001. The Kerala High Court ordered a compensation amount of Rs 1  lakh to be paid to Narayanan based on an appeal from NHRC India in September 2012.

On 3 October 2012, The Hindu reported that the government of Kerala had dropped charges against the police officials who were alleged to have falsely implicated Narayanan in the espionage case on the grounds that over 15 years had passed since the case was initiated. The top officer involved in the case, Siby Mathews, was later appointed Chief Information Commissioner in Kerala (2011–2016). [29] [30]

Later political implications

In September 2013, during his prime ministerial election campaign, Narendra Modi met with Narayanan in Thiruvananthapuram. [31] R. B. Sreekumar, who had served as Additional Director-General of Police in Gujarat in 2002, had by then, made allegations of complicity by Modi and his government in the 2002 Gujarat riots. In November 2013, during the campaign for 2014 Indian general election, BJP aired claims that Sreekumar's allegations were in exchange for the United Progressive Alliance government dropping charges of faulty investigation in the ISRO espionage case. [32]

On 14 September 2018, the Supreme Court ordered a probe [lower-alpha 5] into the "harrowing" arrest and alleged torture of former space scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 'ISRO spy scandal' that turned out to be fake. A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also awarded Mr. Narayanan Rs. 5  lakh in compensation for the "mental cruelty" he suffered all these years. [33] The same month, Narayanan's name was recommended for Padma awards by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, then a BJP member of parliament. [34] In January 2019, Modi said that "it was an honour for his government to confer the Padma Bhushan on Nambi Narayanan". [35] The case and the Padma award featured in BJP's campaign for 2019 Indian general election, [16] with Modi asking "I hope you are aware what the Congress has done to Kerala's own scientist Nambi Narayan" in a rally in Thiruvananthapuram. [36]

Recent developments

In 2021, Kerala government settled the case filed against it by Narayanan by agreeing to a payment of 13 million (US$160,000). [37]

On 14 April 2021, the Supreme Court of India ordered a CBI probe into the involvement of police officers in the conspiracy. [38] [39] The Kerala High Court dismissed one of the pleas to investigate the land deals. [40] It said that the documents were not proof enough, but allowed the petitioners to file a fresh case with better sale records. [41]

Notes

  1. Phone records showed calls by Rasheeda to Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and the residence of Sasikumaran. Police also said that Sasikumaran visited Rasheeda's hotel. [16]
  2. A police officer involved in the initial investigation [25]
  3. Bench consisting of judges M.K. Mukherji and Syed Shah Mohammed Quadri
  4. Rasheeda, Hassan, Narayanan, Sasikumaran, Chandrasekhar and S.K. Sharma, a labour contractor for ISRO [24]
  5. by a three member panel headed by D. K. Jain, a former judge

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Bureau of Investigation</span> Crime investigating agency of India

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the domestic crime investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption, in 1965 it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India, multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases. CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. CBI is India's officially designated single point of contact to act as the liaison with Interpol. The CBI headquarter is located in CGO Complex, near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

Events in the year 1994 in the Republic of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. Karunakaran</span> Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Kerala

Kannoth Karunakaran was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Kerala in 1977, from 1981 to March 1982, from May 1982 to 1987 and from 1991 to 1995. He is the founder of the Indian National Congress (INC)-led United Democratic Front (UDF) coalition, which governed the state in the periods of 1982-87, 1991-96, 2001-06 and 2011-16; and currently is the main opposition in Kerala since 2016. He has also served as the Union Minister of Industry from 1995 to 1996 and served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly for four terms- 1967 to 1969, 1978 to 1979, 1980 to 1981 and 1987 to 1991. He also has the distinction of being one of the longest serving Congress Legislature Party (CLP) Leaders in the country, holding that post from 1967 to 1995.

<i>Malayala Manorama</i> Kerala-based Indian newspaper

Malayala Manorama is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew, it was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1888, and currently has a readership of over 8 million. It is also the second oldest Malayalam newspaper in Kerala in circulation, after Deepika, which is also published from Kottayam. Manorama also publishes an online edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sister Abhaya murder case</span> 1992 death in India

Sister Abhaya, a Knanaya Catholic sister, was found dead in a well filled with water in St Pius X Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992. Investigation into this death is by far the longest running murder investigation in the State of Kerala.

The Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case is a criminal case in the Gujarat state after the death of Sohrabuddin Anwarhussain Sheikh on November 26, 2005. A special CBI court acquitted all the 22 accused in the case in the alleged encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife.

R.B. Sreekumar is a former Gujarat State Director-General of Police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nambi Narayanan</span> Indian rocket scientist (born 1941)

Nambi Narayanan is an Indian aerospace scientist who worked for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). As a senior official at the ISRO, he was briefly in charge of the cryogenics division. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, in March 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulbarg Society massacre</span> Massacre of a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad during the 2002 Gujarat Riots

The Gulbarg Society massacre took place on 28 February 2002, during the 2002 Gujarat riots, when a crowd started stone pelting the Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in the eastern part of Chamanpura, Ahmedabad in the Indian state of Gujarat. Most of the houses were burnt, and at least 35 victims, including a former Congress Member of Parliament, Ehsan Jafri, were burnt alive, while 31 others went missing after the incident, later presumed dead, bringing the total deaths to 69.

Raman Srivastava was a 1973 batch Indian Police Service officer who served as the Director general of police in Kerala Police from February 2005 till November 2008. He is also a former Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF), the border patrol agency of the Government of India.

Sanjiv Bhatt is a former Indian Police Service officer of the Gujarat-cadre. He is known for his role in filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India against the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, concerning Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. He claimed to have attended a meeting, during which Modi allegedly asked top police officials to let Hindus vent their anger against the Muslims. However, the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India concluded that Bhatt did not attend any such meeting, and dismissed his allegations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal</span>

Also referred to as the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal, the Indian helicopter bribery scandal by Congress led UPA Government refers to a multimillion-dollar corruption case in India, wherein money was paid to middlemen and Indian officials in 2006 and 2007 to purchase helicopters for high level politicians. As per the CBI, this amounted to 2.5 billion (US$30 million), transferred through bank accounts in the UK and UAE.

Tulsiram Prajapati was a man, who was killed while in custody at 5 am on 26 December 2005. The case is widely believed to have been an encounter killing by the Gujarat Police. DIG D.G. Vanzara has been in jail for seven years, on charges of having organised this encounter, among others.

The Vyapam scam was an entrance examination, admission and recruitment scam. It was functional since the 1990s and was finally unearthed in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathua rape case</span> 2018 crime in Jammu and Kashmir, India

The Kathua rape case involved the abduction, gang rape, and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl, Asifa Bano, by seven males in January 2018 in the Rasana village near Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, India. A chargesheet for the case was filed, the accused were arrested and the trial began in Kathua on 16 April 2018. The victim belonged to the nomadic Bakarwal community, and the crime was a bid to terrorise the group off Jammu. She disappeared for a week before her body was discovered by the villagers a kilometer away from the village. The incident made national news when charges were filed against eight men in April 2018. The arrests of the accused led to protests by the Panthers Party and other local groups, who sought justice for the victim. The gang rape and murder, as well as the support the accused received especially from local officials of the Bharatiya Janata party, sparked widespread outrage in India and world-wide.

<i>Rocketry: The Nambi Effect</i> 2022 film directed by R. Madhavan

Rocketry: The Nambi Effect is a 2022 Indian biographical drama film written, produced, and directed by R. Madhavan in his directorial debut. The film is based on the life of Nambi Narayanan, played by Madhavan, a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation who was accused in an espionage case and later exonerated. The story spans across Narayanan's days as a graduate student at Princeton University, before exploring his work as a scientist and the false espionage charges placed upon him. Simran played the main female lead.

<i>Open Secrets: Indias Intelligence Unveiled</i> 2005 memoir by Maloy Krishna Dhar

Open Secrets: India's Intelligence Unveiled is a 2005 personal memoir by Indian intelligence operative Maloy Krishna Dhar. The central theme throughout the book is that of the need for legislative oversight and checks for intelligence agencies in India. Dhar, a former Intelligence Bureau of India joint director, provides a top down view of the intelligence establishment in India and the types of pressures that it has to face in carrying out its duties including those of how the agencies are used for 'personal-political agendas'. As a historical memoir, it was as of 2015, the only information available of the Intelligence Bureau that was in the public domain. Dhar wrote this in a time when writing about the intelligence community was frowned upon to the extent of being an act of betrayal. The book remained a number one non-fiction best seller for months after its publication and stirred many a national debate.

<i>Ormakalude Bhramanapadham</i> Autobiography of Nambi Narayanan

Ormakalude Bhramanapadham is the autobiography of Nambi Narayanan, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist and the Padma Bhushan awardee. After his education at Princeton University in chemical rocket propulsion he was invited by United States to join NASA, but he decided to serve the nation and joined ISRO. He came to India with expertise in liquid propulsion at a time when Indian rocketry was still solely dependent on solid propellants.

Events in the year 2022 in India.

References

  1. "What was the ISRO spy case, involving scientist Nambi Narayanan?". The Indian Express. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  2. "Nambi Narayanan: The fake spy scandal that blew up a rocket scientist's career". BBC News. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  3. "ISRO Spy Case May Have Been CIA Plot to Sabotage India's Cryogenic Progress: Former Scientist". News18. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  4. "Nambi Narayanan sees U.S. Hand in ISRO spy case". The Hindu. 6 August 2021.
  5. "ISRO spy case: SC judgment will help to change mindset of law enforcement machinery, says Nambi Narayanan". Firstpost. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  6. "Fake ISRO spy case: The seven characters of the false espionage story". 18 September 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
  7. "Who owns your media: How Malayala Manorama struggled with a steep fall in ad revenues".
  8. Nambi Narayanan (1994), ISRO Espionage Case 1994 : Nambi Narayanan Paper Cuttings , retrieved 25 August 2023
  9. "'The criminal here is the media': Journalists recount how ISRO spy case was concocted". 3 July 2022. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  10. "Probe role of CIA in ISRO spy case: Nambi Narayanan".
  11. "Indian court offers final vindication for innocent space scientist who was arrested and tortured". 20 September 2018.
  12. "ISRO spy case: KPCC president MM Hassan makes major revelation on removal of K Karunakaran as Kerala Chief Minister". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  13. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/a-shattered-man-now-sits-cool-and-detached/article3871592.ece
  14. "Isro spy case: Ex-DGP Siby Mathews's bail extended". The Times of India. 23 October 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  15. "ISRO case: Supreme Court to hear CBI plea to cancel former Kerala DGP Siby Mathews' anticipatory bail". The Hindu. 15 July 2022. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 MS, Nileena (1 November 2020). "Space Secrets: How the CBI killed India's biggest espionage case". Caravan . Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.(subscription required)
  17. 1 2 "K. Chandrasekhar v. The State Of Kerala and other" (PDF). Supreme Court of India. 29 April 1998.
  18. "S. Nambi Narayanan vs. Siby Mathews & Others" (PDF). Supreme Court of India. 14 September 2018. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  19. "I am happy Nambi got justice: Former DGP Raman Srivastava". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  20. Sarin, Ritu (3 January 1999). "Wrongly accused ISRO scientist seeks damages". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 September 2004. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  21. Kochukudy, Anand. "How the ISRO espionage scandal brought a CM down". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  22. G., Rajiv (3 February 2016). "Karunakaran did not resign on Isro spy case: Oommen Chandy". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  23. Anand, G. (15 April 2021). "ISRO case resurfaces to haunt Congress". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  24. 1 2 3 Krishnakuar, R (8 May 1998). "Requiem for a scandal". frontline.thehindu.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 Joshi, Charulata (31 August 1996). "ISRO spy scandal: IB, Kerala Police dispute CBI contention of bungling up the probe". India Today.
  26. Menon, Venu (11 May 1998). "The Rediff On The NeT Special: Venu Menon on how the SC order on ISRO spy scandal has affected the Kerala government". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  27. "Cops Tortured Me". Outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  28. A shattered man now sits cool and detached Archived 16 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine . The Hindu, 8 September 2012.
  29. "Kerala drops charges against police officials in ISRO espionage case". Thehindu.com . Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  30. "I was the one who was victimised in ISRO espionage case: Former Kerala DGP Siby Mathews". The News Minute. 7 June 2017. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  31. Radhakrishnan, MG (15 November 2013). "You made me a Modi admirer: Nambinarayanan". India Today. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  32. "BJP attacks Modi-baiter cop Sreekumar, rakes up ISRO spy case". PTI. 7 November 2013.
  33. Rajagopal, Krishnadas (14 September 2018). "ISRO spy case victim wants justice". The Hindu.
  34. Rakesh, K.M. (26 January 2019). "Former Kerala top cop puts BJP in spot over Padma for Nambi". Telegraph (India) .
  35. ""Patriotic ISRO Scientist Falsely Implicated": PM Modi On Nambi Narayanan". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  36. "'Can we forgive Cong for what they did to scientist Nambi Narayanan': Modi in Kerala". The News Minute. 19 April 2019. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
  37. "Nambi Narayanan gets ₹1.3 cr. additional compensation". The Hindu. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 March 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  38. "ISRO Spy Case". The New Indian Express. 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  39. Cherukkad, Rajan (24 July 2021). "ISRO case getting murkier: Ex-cops allege Nambi Narayanan transferred acres of land to CBI officers". Mathrubhumi.
  40. "ISRO case: Kerala HC dismisses plea claiming Nambi Narayanan influenced CBI probe by land deals". PTI. 15 November 2021.
  41. "Nambi Narayanan influenced CBI probe in ISRO spy case through land deals with agency officials: Kerala HC told". PTI. 10 November 2021. Archived from the original on 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.