ISRO case closed: scientist compensated
According to the ISRO spy case, senior ISRO scientists Nambi Narayanan and D. Sasikumaran collaborated with two Maldivian nationals and a businessman to spy on ISRO's secrets. The Supreme Court dismissed the case in 1996 as it was found to be false. The CBI could find no evidence to corroborate the statements made by the special investigation team in the case diary. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kochi, discharged all the accused on May 2, 1996. The CBI also sent a report to the State government ‘on the role of certain officials of the Kerala police in the investigation of the case in April 1996 itself.
The case was made up of many inconsistencies. Classified documents found in the scientists’ homes was, in fact, a fabricated allegation as ISRO being an open organisation does not have classify documents. In addition to that, the allegations of the scientists meeting up with the Maldivian agents in a hotel were proved false when records were check and no names/witnesses were found. The other Hotel mentioned was not functional by the date associated with it. The agents also failed to recognise the implicated police officer. All the accused who were alleged to have been making big bucks from the information were found to be struggling to make ends meet. Also, customs documents could not find any entries for alleged cargos to countries buying the documents.
Narayanan later filed a complaint before National Human Rights Commission seeking compensation for being wrongly implicated and was awarded Rs.10 lakh. But the other falsely implicated citizens lost years of their lives in addition to loss of honour and it cost the scientists their career.
What has recently revealed is Ommen Chandy, on June 29, 2011, issued an order to drop disciplinary proceedings against the investigating officers - S Vijayan, the then inspector, Special Branch, Thiruvananthapuram City, K K Joshua, the then DySP Crime Branch and Siby Mathews, the then DIG (Crimes). The matter came to light when Congress leader K Muraleedharan pointed towards UDF Government’s involvement in the case, all in a bid to clear his father, the then Chief Minister K Karunakaran's name.