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ISRO Misfired: The Espionage Case That Shook India
An infamous espionage case took the country by storm in 1994 and destroyed the lives and careers of many people. It has finally been put to rest after 25 years. The main accused, Nambi Narayanan, was vindicated and in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order, received ?50 lakh compensation from the Kerala Government. He was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2019. But was all this too late? And what about the others who were accused? Has their honour been restored? Do we know the full story yet?
Ex-IB officer K. V. Thomas reveals the long saga of interrogations, investigations and legal battles. Full of original disclosures, the book exposes deep secrets and closed-door conversations of India’s most sensational spy case.
Ex-IB officer K. V. Thomas reveals the long saga of interrogations, investigations and legal battles. Full of original disclosures, the book exposes deep secrets and closed-door conversations of India’s most sensational spy case.
216 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 15, 2024
A lot was written about this sensational spy case but what got by eye was the author who was involved in the investigation but not prosecuted.
The author provides a fair timeline of events even though from the beginning the author lacks the neutrality in the investigation. The author describes why the 'so called accused' weaved a spy thriller story was just to escape the tough interrogators due to " considering pressure and intimidation". I just can't wrap my head around the fact that concept.
To protect the identity of the official in the investigation agency and political master of that time make the literature a tad confusing even with the author 's style of writing.
To conclude the sensational ISRO espionage case of '94 which one time had all the 3 W ( Wine, Women, Wealth ) and even an angle of CIA or related foreign intelligence involvement to a mere failed sexual innuendo of a police commissioner (who is currently under prosecution for this charge as of Jul 2024) is a meal difficult to digest.
A solid 3.5 .
The author provides a fair timeline of events even though from the beginning the author lacks the neutrality in the investigation. The author describes why the 'so called accused' weaved a spy thriller story was just to escape the tough interrogators due to " considering pressure and intimidation". I just can't wrap my head around the fact that concept.
To protect the identity of the official in the investigation agency and political master of that time make the literature a tad confusing even with the author 's style of writing.
To conclude the sensational ISRO espionage case of '94 which one time had all the 3 W ( Wine, Women, Wealth ) and even an angle of CIA or related foreign intelligence involvement to a mere failed sexual innuendo of a police commissioner (who is currently under prosecution for this charge as of Jul 2024) is a meal difficult to digest.
A solid 3.5 .
December 30, 2021
The seemingly random arrest of two Maldivian women in Trivandrum in 1994 for overstaying in India gradually assumed sinister proportions as it was revealed during interrogations that they were working for foreign agencies to honey-trap Indian scientists to part with sensitive information pertaining to the flight details of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of ISRO. Kerala Police and Intelligence Bureau personnel vied with each other to interrogate the accused – chief amongst them being Nambi Narayanan, a senior scientist working with ISRO. The case which came to be known as the infamous ISRO Spy Case riveted the nation’s attention in the 90s, and its repercussions were felt in the highest corridors of power. When the CBI took over the investigation, the case suddenly collapsed like a house of cards.
What then was the purpose of the initial investigations? Was it sheer incompetence? Fraudulent efforts to further careers as many bureaucrats and police officers are wont to do, at the expense of innocent lives? To grab credit and accolades by jumping into hastily drawn conclusions? Conspiracy by politicians to upstage their rivals with the help of sycophantic officers to steer a sensitive case to fit into a certain narrative? Or all of the above? And to think that all of this had its origin in the carnal desires of a Kerala Police Inspector lusting after an attractive Maldivian woman – Mariam Rasheeda, who had come to the police station along with her companion Fauzia Hassan to seek extension of their visas; and when she spurned his advances, the two women were held on trumped-up charges of espionage – leading to the most sensational spy case that never was!
In 2018, the Supreme Court directed the state of Kerala to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakhs to Nambi Narayanan, thus bringing a closure to his crusade to bring the perpetrators to book – 25 years after he was wrongfully arrested along with five others. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. In 2021 the apex court directed the CBI to probe the involvement of the police officers in the conspiracy.
KV Thomas, one of the chief investigating officers, relooks at the controversial case from all angles.
What then was the purpose of the initial investigations? Was it sheer incompetence? Fraudulent efforts to further careers as many bureaucrats and police officers are wont to do, at the expense of innocent lives? To grab credit and accolades by jumping into hastily drawn conclusions? Conspiracy by politicians to upstage their rivals with the help of sycophantic officers to steer a sensitive case to fit into a certain narrative? Or all of the above? And to think that all of this had its origin in the carnal desires of a Kerala Police Inspector lusting after an attractive Maldivian woman – Mariam Rasheeda, who had come to the police station along with her companion Fauzia Hassan to seek extension of their visas; and when she spurned his advances, the two women were held on trumped-up charges of espionage – leading to the most sensational spy case that never was!
In 2018, the Supreme Court directed the state of Kerala to pay a compensation of Rs 50 lakhs to Nambi Narayanan, thus bringing a closure to his crusade to bring the perpetrators to book – 25 years after he was wrongfully arrested along with five others. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. In 2021 the apex court directed the CBI to probe the involvement of the police officers in the conspiracy.
KV Thomas, one of the chief investigating officers, relooks at the controversial case from all angles.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews