<p>The starting point of the Isro “spy case” came in October 1994, when a Maldivian woman, Mariam Rasheeda, was arrested in Thiruvananthapuram for staying beyond the period stipulated in her visa.</p>.<p>Based on details sourced from her diary, the Kerala Police arrested S Nambi Narayanan and D Sasikumaran, both Isro scientists, K Chandrasekhar who represented a Russian space agency, S K Sharma, a labour contractor, and Fauziya Hassan, another Maldivian national.</p>.<p>The charge against the scientists was that they leaked out “official secrets and documents” of Isro.</p>.<p>Narayanan, a liquid propulsion specialist then heading Isro’s cryogenic project, was in custody for about 50 days, and was “harassed and physically abused”.</p>.<p>The case took a political turn after the A K Antony faction of the then ruling Congress party used the scandal to hit out at IG Raman Srivastava, an officer considered close to then chief minister K Karunakaran. The rebellion, laced with sensational media reportage about the “espionage case”, led to Karunakaran’s resignation, in 1995.</p>.<p>Nambi Narayanan has mentioned the possibility of a conspiracy outside of the political theatre. Since the early 1990s, a future with cryogenic engine-powered launches was actively discussed. Those who see a conspiracy that involves foreign elements point to the damage the false case did to India’s cryogenic project.</p>
<p>The starting point of the Isro “spy case” came in October 1994, when a Maldivian woman, Mariam Rasheeda, was arrested in Thiruvananthapuram for staying beyond the period stipulated in her visa.</p>.<p>Based on details sourced from her diary, the Kerala Police arrested S Nambi Narayanan and D Sasikumaran, both Isro scientists, K Chandrasekhar who represented a Russian space agency, S K Sharma, a labour contractor, and Fauziya Hassan, another Maldivian national.</p>.<p>The charge against the scientists was that they leaked out “official secrets and documents” of Isro.</p>.<p>Narayanan, a liquid propulsion specialist then heading Isro’s cryogenic project, was in custody for about 50 days, and was “harassed and physically abused”.</p>.<p>The case took a political turn after the A K Antony faction of the then ruling Congress party used the scandal to hit out at IG Raman Srivastava, an officer considered close to then chief minister K Karunakaran. The rebellion, laced with sensational media reportage about the “espionage case”, led to Karunakaran’s resignation, in 1995.</p>.<p>Nambi Narayanan has mentioned the possibility of a conspiracy outside of the political theatre. Since the early 1990s, a future with cryogenic engine-powered launches was actively discussed. Those who see a conspiracy that involves foreign elements point to the damage the false case did to India’s cryogenic project.</p>