Teesta’s comrade Sreekumar or ISRO scientist: Who is real traitor? Part II

News Bharati English    15-Nov-2013   
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TEESTA’S COMRADE SREEKUMAR OR ISRO SCIENTIST: WHO IS REAL TRAITOR?

By Milind Arolkar

PART 2

(Read Part 1)

CBI charge sheet says, “Investigation with contradictions”

In 1996, the CBI submitted its closure report in the chief judicial magistrate's court in Kochi, concluding that the allegations of espionage were unproved and false. The court agreed and all six accused were discharged.

Earlier the Kerala police had made out a case that Narayanan and Sasikumaran had passed on secret documents to other countries, especially Pakistan. They accused Chandrasekhar of Russia's space agency, Bangalore contractor S K Sharma, and inspector general Raman Srivastava of passing on secrets of the Aeronautical Defence Establishment, Bangalore. They alleged that Chandrasekhar, Sasikumaran and two women from the Maldives, Mariyam Rasheeda and Fauzia Hassan, had met secretly to exchange papers and money.

The CBI pointed out lapses by Kerala police officers Siby Mathews, Sreekumar, K K Joshwa and S Vijayan, who probed the case. In a report to the Kerala government, it called for "necessary action as deemed fit".

The CBI had also submitted a report to the Union Home Ministry about the role of some Intelligence Bureau officials.

The CBI report says that Siby Mathew, the DIG who headed the special investigation team had indiscriminately ordered the arrest of the scientists and others without conducting a thorough interrogation or adequately verifying their disclosures. It said Mathew and his team had not recovered any evidence from the ISRO or the money allegedly paid to the accused by their foreign contacts. "It is unfortunate that he allowed the doubts and suspicions in the mass media and the public mind to linger on without conducting proper verification," the report said.

When he handed over the case to the CBI, Mathew suggested that Narayanan's office and house be searched; that investments made by the accused with a person in Kochi be verified; that "the brigadier" also known as "Coatwala" be identified; and that the nature of documents allegedly secreted out be established. The CBI blamed him for having failed to probe these aspects at his own level during the 20 days for which he had investigated the case.

The CBI noted that Mathew had not updated the media about his probe; the CBI report said he "deliberately and intentionally" allowed rumors to circulate, causing embarrassment to IG Srivastava.

A year after the court accepted the CBI report, Mathew claimed the police had collected sufficient evidence to charge sheet the accused and the CBI was entrusted the case for conducting investigations all over India and abroad, and because of the sensitive nature of the issues involved. In an explanation to the chief secretary, Mathew said the CBI's allegations were the result of bias.

Nambi Narayanan had alleged that he and other scientists were mentally and physically tortured in police custody. The CBI found that that Narayanan and Chandrasekhar had been given medical treatment during police custody but IB officials suppressed this fact from the case diaries and records. Also, searches in the houses of the accused to recover incriminating documents were delayed.

CBI report says that though IB officials took custody of the accused for questioning; their revelations were not communicated to the state police. Rasheeda, Chandrasekhar and Narayanan were reportedly tortured by IB officials. After questioning Narayanan and S K Sharma, the IB did not prepare interrogation reports "as they did not toe the line suggested by the IB", says the CBI report.

CBI found that the interrogation reports for the other four accused were unsigned and undated, due to which the identity of the IB officials concerned could not be ascertained. The interrogation of three of the accused was video-graphed and produced in the High Court, but neither joint director Mathew John nor deputy director R B Sreekumar could identify the officer who video-graphed the questioning.

CBI in its charge sheet says that the IB officials did not verify the statements of the accused, which the CBI said could have cleared the air and saved the reputation of the scientists.

IB's interrogation reports incoherent, says CBI

The CBI found the IB's interrogation reports incoherent and full of contradictions. The reports did not give the exact nature of the documents allegedly secreted out; they rather stated they were drawings/documents of Viking and cryogenic engines.

The interrogation report for Sasikumaran said it was Narayanan who had taken out documents from ISRO installations, but IB officials informed Kerala police that nothing was likely to be recovered from the premises of the accused.

The CBI said joint director John reported to the IB director that the disclosures made by the accused were a mixture of truth, half-truth and untruth, which, according to CBI, showed that even senior officials suspected the allegations.

The CBI said the IB men acted unprofessionally and were privy to the arrest of innocent persons. It said John and Sreekumar had failed in their duty to conduct the probe in an objective and fair manner.

The CBI recommended action against Siby Mathew (former ADGP), K K Joshua (then SP) and S Vijayan and R B Sreekumar for their ‘unprofessional’ conduct of the ISRO probe, but amusingly, the Government has not taken a decision on CBI’s recommendations.

Sreekumar failed to justify his acts

In November 1999, Union Home Ministry initiated disciplinary proceedings against Sreekumar and was served a charge sheet  having 9 articles of charge that include physically taking over the possession of the accused persons from the lawful custody of Kerala Police without completing legal formalities, tortured, ill-treated accused persons, did not prepare written statement of interrogation in respect of two persons interrogated by the team, one of them being Narayanan and conducting independent investigation, disassociating the Kerala Police etc besides, the statements of interrogation prepared by his team were left unsigned and undated.

In article VI of the charge sheet, Sreekumar was also asked to explain why “he failed to conduct verification about the veracity of the statements of the accused persons as recorded by the team of IB officers without assigning any reasons, which resulted in irreparable loss and humiliation to respectable scientists of ISRO and others”.

UPA really favored Sreekumar to use him against Modi?

R B Sreekumar, known for his association with social activist Teesta Setalvad for raising issues related riots and encounters against Gujarat Government. Even when it was alleged that he master-minded to brand a patriotic scientist Dr Nambi Narayanan of ISRO as a traitor, despite his scandalous act affecting nation’s interest, all the charges against Sreekumar, were dropped by the UPA government.

MHA super active in dropping charges against Sreekumar

Things changed dramatically in the second half of 2004 when the UPA Government came to power. Like an obvious quid pro quo, on 13th December, 2004, MHA issued an order dropping 7 out of the 9 charges without even conducting any enquiry whatsoever.

In just about one month’s time i.e. MHA by order dated 24 January, 2005, completed the entire process of appointing the presenting officer, enquiry officer, conducting and completing the enquiry, preparing and submitting the enquiry report, consideration of the enquiry report at various levels, and issuing the final order dropping the remaining two charges against Sreekumar. Notably such serious charges were dropped by only an oral inquiry.

One thing which was also proved beyond doubt from the charge sheet was that the man who was single-handedly responsible for the fabrication of this case was none other than Sreekumar. Still unclear on whose behest he acted to inhumanly which not only maligned image of an honorable scientist and ISRO but gave a setback to India’s space programme and sabotage it.

While the BJP has alleged that the former Gujarat police officer leveled charges of fake encounters against the Narendra Modi government as a “quid pro quo” for the UPA regime giving him a clean chit in the case involving ex-ISRO scientist S Nambi Narayanan, which was “fabricated” by him, the Congress’ reaction is rather predictable. Instead of calling for the truth of the framed “1994 ISRO Espionage case” to come out, Congress party is questioning its purpose to be revived.  

“Teesta helped me a lot, don’t go against Radicals and benefit Modi, the enemy”

Recently, a telephonic conversation recorded on 4 November 2010 has revealed that Former Gujarat DGP RB Sreekumar who framed and humiliated Nambi Narayanan as a traitor and fabricated a case against him, admits that he became a part of Teesta’s tirade against Modi Government just to repay the debts of both Teesta and UPA government, who ‘helped’ him a lot.  Sreekumar who is a frontrunner in vilifying Narendra Modi and raising issues related riots and encounters against Gujarat Government says, “when I was superseded, when I was given a dismissal notice, Teesta helped me a lot." The conversation also contains the reference of the BJP, VHP and Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as “our Enemy”.

Unanswered questions: Nation should know the Truth

Questionable was the haste of dropping such serious charges against Sreekumar’s acts which heavily cost nation’s interests, without any systematic inquiry in an unprecedented way. More questionable is Sreekumar’s hyperactive involvement to launch a tirade against the BJP Government in Gujarat and a process to demean Narendra Modi.

The telephonic conversation between Rais Khan Pathan and Sreekumar which contains an interesting claim of Sreekumar that when he was superseded and was given a dismissal notice, “Teesta helped him a lot” needed to be probed for the loss his acts caused to Nation’s space programme and humiliating a patriotic scientist. 

The investigation is necessary to clear the air on the picture emerging that the UPA favored a person with disrepute background and use him as ammunition against its Political opponents.

More important is the need to check the facts mentioned in a recently published book "Russia in Space-The Failed Frontier" by Brian Harvey which discloses that CIA was involved in fabricating the case to damage Indian efforts to develop cryogenic engines.

The Nation has every right to know the truth about ISRO spy case and the facts 71 years old Nambi Narayanan wants to find out who was for no reason humiliated and insulted whole his life by the Kerala Police, Kerala government and also the Congress party who relieved RB Sreekumar in a most conspicuous manner.

The continuing fight between the rouge Ex Cop and ISRO’s one time best should not be seen as Nambi Narayanan settling his personal grudges. It is utmost important to justify the veracity of denting National interest and sabotaging India’s space program. The credibility of the UPA government and its agencies are at the stake.

 

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