The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told a court in Thiruvananthapuram today that the 1994 ISRO espionage case was allegedly created by a top cop in Kerala to illegally detain a Maldivian woman after she shot down his advances. CBI said that the case, in which ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan was falsely implicated, was a fabrication by a then-special branch officer of the Kerala police.
The agency has made the allegation in a charge sheet filed by it against five former police officers for allegedly implicating Narayanan and five others, including two Maldivian women, in the espionage case. The chargesheet was filed in June but was made public on Wednesday.
CBI said in its chargesheet that S Vijayan, who was a special branch officer at the time and retired as an SP, prevented Maldivian national Mariyam Rasheeda from leaving the country by taking away her travel documents and air tickets after she spurned his advances.
Vijayan later found out that the woman was in contact with ISRO scientist D Shasikumaran. Based on this fact, Kerala police officers started surveilling Rasheeda and her Maldivian friend Fauzia Hasan.
The police had also informed the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) about the women, but the IB officers who examined the foreign nationals could not find anything suspicious, the CBI said. Thereafter, Rasheeda was arrested under the Foreigners Act for overstaying in the country without a valid visa with the knowledge of the then Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram and then SIB Deputy Director, the agency added.
{{/usCountry}}The police had also informed the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) about the women, but the IB officers who examined the foreign nationals could not find anything suspicious, the CBI said. Thereafter, Rasheeda was arrested under the Foreigners Act for overstaying in the country without a valid visa with the knowledge of the then Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram and then SIB Deputy Director, the agency added.
{{/usCountry}}CBI further said in its chargesheet that when her custody was about to expire, Vijayan submitted a false report against Rasheeda and Hasan which implicated them in a case under the Official Secrets Act. An espionage case was filed and their custody was handed over to an SIT.
Subsequently, the SIT arrested four ISRO scientists including Narayanan, the CBI added.
"To sustain the initial wrongs, another case of serious nature was launched with false interrogation reports against the victims (including Narayanan and others)," the agency has said in its final report recommending the prosecution of former DGPs R B Sreekumar and Siby Mathews, former SPs S Vijayan and K K Joshua and ex-intelligence officer P S Jayaprakash.
(With inputs from PTI)