Thiruvananthapuram: A local court here has granted anticipatory bail for former IPS officer Siby Mathews, who has been made an accused in the FIR filed by the CBI in the Isro espionage case.
Mathews, who is the fourth accused in the case as per the FIR, has been granted anticipatory bail by the district court, Thiruvananthapuram.
Mathews was the DIG (crimes) when the ISro espionage case occurred.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had cited offences including conspiracy, physical torture and forging false documents to trap central government officials.
As many as 18 former police officials, including those who served in the Kerala Police and Intelligence Bureau during the Isro espionage case, have been named as accused in the FIR submitted by CBI in the chief judicial magistrate court here, in connection with the case.
The original case was registered by the state police on October 20, 1994, at Vanchiyoor police station in the capital against a Maldivian national under Foreigner’s Act on the allegations of over staying in the country after expiry of her visa.
Subsequently, another case registered at the same police station on November 13, 1994, under sections 3 & 4 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, against two accused Maldivian nationals, on the allegations that they, in collusion with some others, had taken part in activities against the sovereignty and integrity of the country and had indulged in other activities which would harm India’s cordial relations with its neighbours.
Later, the investigation of the cases were entrusted to a special investigation team of the state police.
Four more persons, including scientist Nambi Narayanan working at Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) of Isro, were arrested on charges of espionage activities.
Later, the investigation of these cases was transferred to CBI.
In the espionage case, the CBI submitted a final report before the chief judicial magistrate, Ernakulam, which was accepted by the court, in which it was said that the allegations pertaining to espionage were found to be false.
The Supreme Court had on April 15 this year ordered CBI to look into the justice D K Jain committee report on the role of some senior state police officials, who had framed Narayanan, in the espionage case.