BJP rakes up ISRO spy case, attacks Narendra Modi-baiter cop RB Sreekumar

NEW DELHI: BJP dug out the two-decadeold ISRO espionage case that rocked the Kerala government of the time to allege that former Gujarat IPS officer RB Sreekumar had been used to target the Narendra Modi government.

Accusing Sreekumar of fabricating the espionage case, BJP said he leveled charges of fake encounters against the Gujarat state government as a quid pro quo for the UPA, which gave him a “clean chit” in the 1994 case.

“Former Gujarat DGP RB Sreekumar, known for his association with social activist Teesta Setalvad for raising issues related to riots and encounters against the Gujarat government, had allegedly masterminded the conspiracy to brand a patriotic scientist, Nambi Narayanan, as a traitor and fabricated a case against him. Despite his heinous crimes affecting the nation’s interest, most of the charges against him were dropped by the UPA government,” BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi said at a press conference here on Thursday.

To show Sreekumar’s links with Setalvad, she played an audio CD of a purported phone conversation between Rais Khan, her close aide, and Sreekumar. “Teesta helped me when the chargesheet (on fake encounters) was given to me,” Sreekumar is apparently heard saying. Lekhi said Sreekumar had fabricated the ISRO case which he had investigated while on deputation to the Intelligence Bureau. Reading out from a “chargesheet”, she said the cases were dropped based on oral enquiries in 2004.