I underwent untold misery, suffering: Nambi Narayanan

Days after the Supreme Court cleared his name in a so-called spy scandal, former ISRO scientist S. Nambi Narayanan alleged on Wednesday that he had to undergo "untold misery" and "suffering" when he was jailed.

And reiterating that the "ISRO spy scandal" was no spy case at all, Narayanan told the media here that those who plotted the story should have been a little clever.

"This was nothing but a fabricated case. They found out that I had sold a yet-to-be-created cryogenic technology to an enemy nation. How is it possible to sell something when it was never there?

"Those who fabricated the case should have been a little clever," he said.

"I fought this legal battle for so long because I wanted to clear my name that I was not a spy. Right from the day one this case surfaced, I was sure that this is no spy case and I am not a spy. That has been achieved," added Narayanan.

On September 14, the Supreme Court awarded Narayanan Rs 50 lakh compensation for the humiliation and suffering he underwent after being arrested by Kerala Police.

The Supreme Court has also ordered the setting up of a committee led by a former apex court judge, D.K. Jain, to inquire into the role of the officials who implicated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist.

The officials include then Inspector General of Police Siby Mathews and then Deputy Superintendents of Police K.K. Joshua and S. Vijayan.

"It is for Mathews to answer all the questions as he was the head of the Special Investigation Team. About four years back, he and his wife met me. I never made this public but the media found it out."

He said he was jailed and tortured and underwent untold misery and suffering.

Narayanan said that while a section of the media believed there was no spy case, another section wrote concocted stories out of ignorance.

The CBI cleared him in 1995 and he resumed his work. He later retired from ISRO.

Narayanan said that Anand Mahadevan was directing a film based on what happened to him and it was being produced in English, Hindi and Tamil. Actor Madhavan would play his role. "The shooting is expected to begin very soon."

--IANS

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