ISRO case: Interim relief for R B Sreekumar

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted interim protection to retired Gujarat DGP R B Sreekumar from arrest after an FIR was registered against him in connection with the alleged ISRO espionage case.

The interim relief was granted by Justice K Haripal on Sreekumar's plea seeking anticipatory bail in the case registered by the CBI for various offences.

The offences include criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and fabrication of evidence in connection with the arrest and detention of scientist Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 case.

The court directed that the petitioner shall not be arrested till the next hearing, said advocate P Martin Jose, counsel for the petitioner. The court would consider the matter on Monday along with the connected cases.

Sreekumar was posted as deputy director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in Thiruvananthapuram and then promoted as IGP in the IB and remained in the post till July 2000 before being repatriated to the Gujarat cadre.

The High Court granted the interim protection also to two former Kerala police officers from arrest in the case.

In its FIR, the CBI named 18 former police officers, including Sreekumar.

Narayanan, who was working at the liquid propulsion systems centre mof the space agency, was absolved of the espionage charges following the CBI probe.

Later, he approached the Supreme Court seeking action against the Kerala police officials.