THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CBI on Friday informed a local court that they cannot assure that former DGP Siby Mathews will not be arrested in connection with the probe into the conspiracy behind the 1994 ISRO espionage case. The court was hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by Mathews. The CBI reply came when Principal District and Sessions Court Judge P Krishnakumar asked whether it was required to arrest Mathews in order to question him.
The central agency, meanwhile, submitted the case diary of the current case wherein 18 officers of the state police and the Intelligence Bureau are accused of conspiring to frame former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and others in the espionage case. However, the CBI did not submit the case diary of the espionage case that was first probed by a state police special team headed by Mathews and later by the CBI. The court, in its previous hearing, had asked CBI to produce both the case diaries.
On Friday, the court instructed the CBI to produce the document during the next hearing on July 26. The case diary of the ongoing investigation was however returned to the CBI as they said it wanted to finish the probe within a stipulated time and the court holding the document could delay the investigation.
The court also asked the CBI whether the charge of kidnapping levelled against Mathews — one of the non-bailable offences listed in the FIR — will stand. The CBI counsel responded that the agency is in possession of more documents that can prove the involvement of Mathews in the case. The CBI had taken up the case on the instruction of the Supreme Court, which wanted the agency to probe whether there was any conspiracy behind the espionage case.