The Central Bureau of Investigation-CBI disclosed in a Thiruvananthapuram court that the 1994 ISRO espionage case was fabricated by a high-ranking Kerala Police officer after a Maldivian woman rejected his advances. The CBI stated that ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan was falsely implicated in the case, which was orchestrated by a then-special branch officer of the Kerala Police.
In a charge sheet filed against five former police officers, the CBI accused them of wrongly implicating Narayanan and five others, including two Maldivian women, in the espionage scandal. Although the charge sheet was filed in June, its details were made public on Wednesday.
According to the CBI, S Vijayan, who was a special branch officer at the time and later retired as an SP, prevented Maldivian national Mariyam Rasheeda from leaving Bharat by confiscating her travel documents and air tickets after she turned down his advances.
Vijayan discovered Rasheeda’s connection with ISRO scientist D Shasikumaran, prompting Kerala Police officers to start monitoring Rasheeda and her Maldivian friend Fauzia Hasan. Despite informing the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau-SIB about the women, the IB officers found nothing suspicious during their examination, as per the CBI.
The CBI’s charge sheet also mentioned that Rasheeda was later arrested under the Foreigners Act for overstaying without a valid visa, with the approval of the then Commissioner of Police, Thiruvananthapuram, and the then SIB Deputy Director. When Rasheeda’s custody was nearing its end, Vijayan submitted a false report against Rasheeda and Hasan, falsely implicating them under the Official Secrets Act. This led to the filing of an espionage case and their transfer to an SIT’s custody.
The SIT subsequently arrested four ISRO scientists, including Narayanan. To cover up the initial wrongdoings, another serious case was fabricated with false interrogation reports against the victims, including Narayanan, the CBI stated.
The final report from the CBI recommended the prosecution of former DGPs RB Sreekumar and Siby Mathews, former SPs S Vijayan and KK Joshua, and ex-intelligence officer PS Jayaprakash for their roles in the scandal.
