Indian Court Reopens ISRO Espionage Case; Compensates Acquitted Scientist

Acquitted scientist Nambi Narayanan, in his autobiography, has pointed a finger at the US and Europe, claiming that the espionage case was produced out of thin air by the police at the behest of some foreign spies to derail India's collaboration with Russia in developing cryogenic rocket engines.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Nambi Narayanan, a former scientist at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), who was falsely framed in an espionage case, has finally been granted his request to ascertain the identity of the "powers" which plotted the false case against him.

Narayanan recently made headlines after releasing his autobiography, which made startling revelations about the connivance of the Indian police and American and European spies in falsely framing him. He demanded that the espionage case, in which he was eventually acquitted, must be reinvestigated, as it was important to establish the motive by finding out who hatched the conspiracy to falsely implicate him and who benefited the most by derailing the space research program that was being carried out by India in collaboration with Russia.

The Supreme Court of India said in its decision on Thursday that Narayanan should be given a compensation of Indian Rupee 25 Lakhs (approximately $37,000) and also asked the investigative agency CBI to ascertain the plot behind the conspiracy to frame the scientist Nambi Narayanan and determine the responsibilities of the officers and other powers actually involved.

In 1994, Narayanan, along with other scientists, was accused of leaking secret information about India's space program to an enemy country and the ensuing investigations delayed the launch of India's cryogenic technology by 16 years.

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"In the 90s when India was looking out for the cryogenic technology we clearly had three options, the US, the French and the Russians. The Russian technology was not just better, but also economical and so we went for it. But this whole case (espionage case) delayed our speed and morale," Nambi Narayanan recently told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.

Nambi Narayanan's autobiography, titled "Ormakalude Bhramanapatham" which translates to "Orbit of Memories," talks about how the local police connived with American and European spies to execute the conspiracy.

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"The plot and the alleged scam resulted in the Indian space program and cryogenic technology launch being delayed by 16 years. Who gained from it is important. At the moment only the US and the European space agencies have the capacity to match the technology. They were also aware that an Indian cryogenic space launch would have cost less than half of the present cost," Nambi Narayanan said in his interview to Sputnik.