Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan handed over the cheque of Rs 50 lakh to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, as ordered by the Supreme Court in the spy case, at the packed Secretariat Durbar Hall here on Tuesday. Mr Vijayan said government will check the legal aspects on how the '50 lakh can be made accountable from the three investigating police official’s accounts. Mr Nambi hailed CM as “a great human being” for taking the stand that the ISRO spy case was a fake one.
The Supreme Court on September 14 had ordered the state government to pay Rs 50 lakh as compensation to Mr Nambi within eight weeks for the mental trauma he was forced to undergo in the ISRO spy case. The CM ensured that Nambi got his payment within 25 days of the Supreme Court verdict. Mr Vijayan praised the former sceintist for his relentless battle in the ISRO spy case. "The Supreme Court verdict shows that the investigating officials should not fall for external influences. At the same time, the vigil by the media while undertaking investigative reporting should be considered seriously", said the CM.
He also added that the three-member committee, led by retired Supreme Court judge D. K. Jain who will be probing in to the conspiracy behind the spy case and the role of the three police officers involvement, should also be investigated. Mr Nambi in his reply speech echoed the sentiments of the CM. He also hinted at a larger conspiracy beh-ind the spy case rather than a mere political ga-me to oust K. Karunaka-ran, then CM.
“Over the last 24 years, six Chief Ministers, K. Karunakaran, A.K. Anto-ny, E. K. Nayanar, V. S. Ac-huthanandan and Oomm-en Chandy, have assumed office. But ever since Mr Vijayan became the Chief Minister, his total understanding of the case was different”, said Nambi.
He also requested before the Chief Minister that few others, including the two Maldivian women, who were wrongly accu-sed in the spy case, be also provided with compensation. Nambi Narayanan’s wife, Meena and other family members were also present. Ministers E.P. Jayarajan and E. Chandrasekharan also attended the programme along with chief secretary Tom Jose.
