THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has handed over a compensation of Rs 1.30 crore to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan who was falsely implicated in an espionage case in 1994. The amount was given as per a cabinet decision last year.
The current compensation is in addition to an amount of Rs 50 lakh provided by the government based on a Supreme Court verdict and another Rs 10 lakh given to him as directed by the National Human Rights Commission. It's learnt that the current amount has been given from the state police's head account.
Last December, the government had taken a decision to give Rs 1.30 crore compensation to Nambi Narayanan. The amount is part of a settlement in a case filed by the former scientist against the government before the Thiruvananthapuram Sub Court, seeking damages for his arrest. Following the government's decision to provide him compensation, Nambi Narayanan had withdrawn the case.
The government had entrusted former chief secretary K Jayakumar to come up with a recommendation to settle the case between Nambi Narayanan and the government. Based on the recommendation given by K Jayakumar, the government decided to provide compensation of Rs 1.30 crore and issued an order in July in this regard.
The espionage case dates back to 1994, when Nambi Narayanan, along with another scientist, was accused of selling classified information on India’s cryogenic engine programme to Russia and Pakistan.