Former ISRO scientist was falsely implicated by IB in 1994 in a spy case.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) senior scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was falsely implicated by the Intelligence Bureau in 1994 in a spy case, told The Sunday Guardian in an exclusive interview that his quest for justice is continuing since those who had wronged him have not been taken to task yet. It is believed that the conspiracy against Narayanan set India’s space program back by decades. Excerpts:
Q: How did the 1994 incident (when Narayanan was arrested for “spying”) affect India’s space program?
A: I was at the helm of cryogenic affairs at ISRO. It was a crucial time for VIKAS engine (VIKAS engine is a family of liquid fuelled rocket engines which was named by Narayanan after Vikram Sarabhai). We were applying new management techniques since applying the normal existing techniques would not have allowed the work to be completed within the given time frame. Everything was on my shoulders. The kind of efforts we were putting in was not acceptable to certain people. It was a jolt; I was suddenly removed from the seat, physically and officially.
I have worked with three stalwarts: Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan and U.R. Rao. When these things were happening with me, and the case was still sub-judice, they wrote an open letter supporting me. That letter at that crucial junction showed their conviction in me. Every third line of the letter carried my name, talking about my integrity and dedication. They wrote that if this kind of trend continues, we cannot rule out the possibility of external forces interfering with our strategic program. The entire unit of ISRO was shocked by the incident. People at ISRO are very sensitive and work in a totally different environment. They are very fragile. If someone slaps them, they will be scared. So imagine the kind of impact this incident had on them—it totally demoralised them. They stopped going to the library, read papers, take books home.
Q: Did you not have any inkling about the arrest?
A: No, absolutely not. Just one day before I had this feeling that something was going to happen. I was physically and mentally tortured. I have not mentioned about this in my book, which was recently released in English and Malayalam, because I knew it would be read by my children, wife, sisters, relatives and they will not be able to stand it. It was horrible. Hence, I have removed certain parts of the whole thing.
Q: But can you tell me, for the sake of our readers, what did you face during your time in prison?
A: How can they physically torture a person? It was a form of Nazi torture. I was asked to stand; I was not allowed to sit. I stood for 30 hours after which my body collapsed. When I asked for water to drink, it was splashed on my face. They hurled abuses at me, demoralised me, and said that they will take me to Pathankot and shoot me and no one will question anything. After I fell down, they became jittery and then they started discussing among themselves if something happens to this old man, who will be responsible? I do not want to recall many things. Why should I recall such bad things?
Q: Who were these people?
A: I cannot recognise them. None of the senior officers was present at that time. It was after I got free that I did some research and was able to find out the names of 10-12 people who were involved in the whole thing.
Q: Will you agree that this whole thing was a part of a big conspiracy?
A: I can tell you I was tortured, I can tell you I was arrested, I can tell you several things. But I cannot speculate.
Q: But there has to be a reason behind this whole thing?
A: This is what I am asking for. I have got the answers on my own, but they may be true, they may not be true. I want somebody to find out these answers. The CBI concluded that it is a fabricated case. If it is a fabricated case, some brains must be behind it. Who? Why? What was the motive? These things need to be found out.
Q: Has no one (government agencies) come to you for seeking your assistance in unearthing the truth?
A: No, no one bothered. They are running away. I have sued some of them.
Q: But suing someone is your personal endeavour. The government agencies should have done their investigation into this conspiracy.
A: This is exactly the problem. It has become my fight. Even during the time when I was working on the rockets, I had to fight government agencies to make them work. VIKAS is 99.9% totally indigenous. When we started this programme, I promised myself that I will not depend on foreign agencies for any product in 1974. And you must understand that this system has been flown for more than 40 times without a single failure.
Q: I had read your statement that you had a lot of expectation from the Narendra Modi government. How do you feel now?
A: Nothing has happened. No justice has happened. I was wrongly implicated in this case. Someone should compensate. Whoever has done this wrong should be punished. But that is not happening. I am coming all the way from Trivandrum to New Delhi, after fighting this case in many different courts. I have to borrow money to take care of these things. But the question is should I, like other people, have kept quiet?