ISRO Scientist Alleges He Was Poisoned Three Years Ago, Demands Probe

Indian space scientist Tapan Misra on Tuesday suspected he was poisoned with a deadly chemical on May 23, 2017 at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) headquarters while on his way to attend a promotion hearing.

“I have come out in the open as I fear for my life after retirement. I am retiring this month, ”Misra, ISRO’s Senior Advisor, told IANS.

Two former chief of staff were not available for comment, and one declined to comment on the allegations.

Tapan Misra’s Statement

In a Facebook post, Misra wrote: “We, in ISRO, occasionally heard about highly suspicious death of Prof. Vikram Sarabhai in 1971. Also heard occasional doubts about sudden death of Dr. S Srinivasan, Director of VSSC (Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre) in 1999. Case of Shri Nambinarayanan in 1994 is well known. But I never thought that I will be at the receiving end of such mystery.”

“I was poisoned by the deadly Arsenic Trioxide on May 23, 2017, during a discussion on the promotion of Sci / Eng SF to SG at ISRO HQ in Bangalore. The lethal dose may have been combined with chutney and Dosai, for a light lunch. ”

“What followed was a nightmare that lasted for about two years.… Severe bleeding up to 30 to 40 percent due to anal bleeding. I had just returned from Bangalore and was taken to Zydus Cadila Hospital in Ahmedabad, ”said Misra.

“It was followed by difficulty breathing, abnormal skin rashes and skin rashes, loss of nails on the feet and hands, terrible sensory problems due to hypoxia, bone pain, abnormal sensations, a person suspected of having a heart attack and arsenic implantation and fungal infections throughout the skin and internal organs,” he added.

The Story

According to Misra, treatment was received in Zydus Cadilla, TMH-Mumbai and AIIMS-Delhi over a two-year period.

“Well-known forensic expert, Drs. Sudhir Gupta told me that in all his work, for the first time, he saw a living survivor of an assassination attempt with the lethal As2O3 molecule. Otherwise his experience was limited to cadavers, ”said Misra.

According to Misra, one of the Directors of ISRO centres had told him on June 5, 2017 of the possibility of poison given to me. “Probably, I guess, he witnessed poison mixing in my food.”

“On June 7, MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) security personnel met with me and warned me about taking Arsenic poisoning. .

Misra said she learned that the toxin is given by stopping the cellular level (crystal level is harmless) just after a hard meal.

“It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless suspension and hence cannot even be suspected. It gets absorbed through stomach during food ingestion, kills RBCs (red blood cells) immediately to such large extent that the fine blood vessels are clogged, leading to heart attacks and strokes within two to three hours and the victim can easily be passed of as heart attack death,” he said.

According to him, he did not eat lunch that day and the amount of poison – mixed with chutney – was low and arsenic passed directly into the colon region and most were released due to bleeding.

“The motive seems to be an espionage attack, coupled with the Government, to remove a scientist who plays a very important role in the military and trade, such as expertise in building the Synthetic Aperture Radar,” he said.

Allegations

In a much more serious allegation, Misra said: “I will also not rule out it also as a new modus operandi of adjusting seniority and clear me who was perceived as obstacle. Whatever may be the reason, it was a great shame for the country and our security apparatus.”

“I pleaded with two successive Chairmen to help me in getting justice. Kirankumar tried his best to convince me that my earlier case of squamous cell carcinoma is resurrecting. I personally talked to Dr. Kasturirangan and Shri Madhavan Nair and they developed cold feet,” Misra said.

Two previous ISRO chairpersons Kiran Kumar and G. Madhavan Nair could not be reached for comment.

On the other hand, retired Chairman K.Kururirangan declined to comment on the matter and told IANS that he was not at ISRO at the time.

In her post, Misra also claimed that she was “attacked by hundreds of threatening emails to shut my mouth”, while barely surviving the “massive explosion, in which the Rs 100 cr lab was destroyed. This happened on May 3, 2018”.

Misra also said that on July 19, 2019, an American Indian professor at one of the top US universities appeared in his office and asked not to speak in the future and as a quid pro quo, his IIT-K granddaughter would be admitted to the highest college in the USA.

“I refused to leave my office at 1430 hrs. And my 30-year-old donor service was replaced by a cure in 1630. on the same day. I have been removed from all responsibilities, including SAC Directorship, ”said Misra.

He was also charged on July 12, 2019 – two days before the scheduled launch of Chandrayaan-2 (again postponed to July 22) – he was again poisoned, spent a long time in hospital, and is still receiving treatment.

Misra also accused the plant of insulting him by examining CCTV footage of his room on January 23 and 24 last year.

According to him, two incidents convinced him that mysterious people were following him and would probably hit him hard before retiring at the end of this month.