THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI team probing the conspiracy behind the ISRO espionage case on Wednesday recorded the statement of a former state police. The statement of P M Ismael, who was part of the security detail of then chief minister K Karunakaran, was recorded by CBI sleuths at their Thiruvananthapuram office.
Sources said Ismael told the CBI that Intelligence Bureau (IB) personnel tried to implicate him in the ISRO spying case since he is a Muslim to buttress their claim that then ISRO scientists Nambi Narayanan and D Sasikumar had leaked sensitive information to Pakistan. The CBI summoned the former police after he wrote to the Justice D K Jain Committee, which was appointed by the Supreme Court to probe whether there was any conspiracy behind the ISRO espionage case, expressing his willingness to give evidence.
Ismael told TNIE that the IB had tried to get him arrested in connection with the ISRO case. “The IB officers came to the Kerala Police Academy in Thrissur where I was working. They told my commandant that I was involved in anti-national activities and wanted me arrested,” he said. Ismael claimed that the IB had begun its spadework regarding the case much earlier and it was evident from the fact that he was told not to appear for duty in July.
Despite his transfer to Kochi Armed Reserve camp, the IB still trailed him and he had to go on leave. “Later, I was removed for going on unapproved leave. I was just 28 then,” he added.Ismael, after his dismissal, was implicated in two criminal cases — both related to incidents of violence committed for fundamentalist organisations. He claimed innocence and said he was targeted at the behest of the IB.
He also felt that had the CBI not taken over the probe, lives of all accused would have undergone a seachange.