Buoyed by the Supreme Court verdict of dismissing the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) espionage case as a framed one, the former space scientist D. Sasikumaran, who was also implicated in the case, is all set to expose the “invisible villains who hatched the conspiracy.”
“I will definitely depose before the judicial commission set up by the court to bring out the truth. I will not spare any one who wrecked the lives and careers of innocent people and sabotaged the space research programme,” said Mr. Sasikumaran.
It was on March 13, 1994, that Mr. Sasikumaran, his colleague Nambi Narayanan, S.K. Sharma, a Bangalore-based businessman, K. Chandrasekhar, the Indian representative of the Russian Space Agency, Glavkosmos, and Maldivians Mariam Rasheeda and Fousiya Hasan were booked by the Kerala police on charges of espionage.
Mr. Sasikumaran was then serving as the Deputy Director of the cryogenic technology division of the ISRO and was in charge of the cryogenic technology transfer from Russia.
“A series of misadventures were committed by some police and Intelligence Bureau officials, some big bosses, and some others who are still staying invisible. The judiciary also erred in taking cognizance in the case, for which it had no jurisdiction,” Mr. Sasikumaran told The Hindu in an exclusive chat.
No State government could file a case invoking the Central Act that permitted only the Central government to be the aggrieved agency and hence the only complainant. The State and its police were alien to the Act. The courts overlooked these provisions. All these aspects would be brought before the commission and all the officials who erred would be held responsible for their acts, he said.
Though the apex court had ordered a compensation of ₹50 lakh for Mr. Narayanan, Mr. Sasikumaran was determined not to claim compensation.
‘‘The tax payers money should not be used for paying compensation for the misadventures of officials and the conspiracy hatched by some big bosses. The compensation should be recovered from the erring officials,” Mr. Sasikumaran said.
“The country should tender unconditional apology to the two innocent Maldivians who were illegally booked twice under the National Security Act and tortured in illegal custody for more than two years. The country should be ashamed for what it did to them,” he said.
Since the apex court has ordered compensation for Mr. Narayanan, the other victims in the case too would get it without much efforts. “I will not seek compensation. But I am determined to expose the misdeeds of those who hatched the conspiracy,” he said.
