Rocket And The Racket

More than two decades after the ISRO espionage case shocked the nation, it is still making news.

- Cithara Paul

It had all the elements of a thriller—spies, a honey trap, politics and foreign intelligence agencies. It was a case that forced a heavyweight chief minister to resign, thereby reshaping Kerala’s political landscape. The accused included top scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation, who were handpicked by none other than Vikram Sarabhai, and two Maldivian women, allegedly working for Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.

Investigations were carried out by the Kerala Police, the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The end results of this tumultuous case were a change in leadership in Kerala, the ruined careers of two scientists and a long delay in the ISRO’s cryogenic development programme. Subsequently, the ISRO espionage case also resulted in a couple of books.

The latest one is by Siby Mathews, the main investigating officer of the case. His book Nirbhayam (Fearless), chronicles his career, and a significant part is dedicated to the case. It talks about the tug of war between various investigating agencies, misuse of political establishments, loopholes within the system, political conspiracies and the alleged involvement of a former prime minister’s son.

Mathews also paints the agony he had to undergo during the time of investigation, and even after the case was closed. “I am the victim of the ISRO case,’’ he said.

Mathews has every reason to worry as a case seeking disciplinary action against him for fabricating evidence is in front of the Supreme Court. The verdict is expected in August. The case was filed by the main accused in the ISRO case, S. Nambi Narayanan— once known as “junior Kalam”—who was the brain behind the design of the systems used in Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan and PSLV.