The curious case of ISRO scientist poisoning: Tapan Misra pins attack to his RISAT satellite work

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Misra said those with vested interest may have a hand in his poisoning, which he claimed took place once in May 2017 and again in September 2020.

The top ISRO scientist, who had earlier served as Director of Ahmedabad-based Space Application Centre of ISRO, said some people were afraid of losing orders from the central government after he helped develop the home grown satellite -RISAT- and thus attacked him.

Misra claimed the satellite can watch the earth's surface in any situation, be it day or night. It is also ten times costlier if bought from others.

Asked why he was attacked, Misra said, "This system is useful for the military for its ability to capture images despite clouds and dust. So, if we develop such a system in our own country, it's obvious that others (who are selling it to India) will lose their business."

In a sensational claim made on Tuesday, the scientist had said that he was poisoned with arsenic.

"I was poisoned with deadly Arsenic Trioxide on 23rd May 2017, during promotion interview from Sci/Eng SF to SG in ISRO HQ at Bangalore," Misra's Facebook post titled "Long Kept Secret" read.

"Fatal dose was probably mixed with chutney along with Dosai, in snacks after lunch."

Detailing his trauma, he said the attack left him vulnerable for 'almost two years'.

"Severe loss of blood to the tune of 30-40% through anal bleeding. I barely could come back from Bangalore and was rushed to Zydus Cadila hospital in Ahmedabad. It was followed by severe breathing difficulty, unusual skin eruptions and skin shedding, loss of nails on feet and hands, terrible neurological issues due to hypoxia, skeletal pain, unusual sensations, one suspected heart attack and Arsenic depositions and fungal infections on every inch of skin and internal organs," the post read.

Misra also shared pictures along with the post.

The senior ISRO scientist thanked one of his colleagues and security officers for warning him about the poisoning and said it may have helped him survive.

"... I am thankful to them, as their info helped doctors to focus on exact remedy instead of scratching their heads with unusual signatures of my ailment. Security agencies took me to different cities. I am sure, without their intervention, I would have been dead with multiple organ failure within two to three weeks."

In his long FB post, he came down hard on the organisation. "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."

"What pains me is that ISRO hierarchy and my colleagues tried to shun me as pariah. 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," he added.

"What followed was a series of nightmares, along with severe deterioration of health. I was bombarded with hundreds of threatening emails to keep my mouth shut. I was saved by whiskers, due to alacrity of security agencies, from massive explosive incident, in which Rs. 100 cr. lab was destroyed. This happened on 3rd May 2018," his post read.

Speaking about more attacks, Misra wrote, "My security was breached and I was poisoned with gaseous poison, probably Hydrogen Cyanide, which hypoxiates leaving no trace, on 12th July 2019. I was hypoxiated severely, leading to convulsion, loss of senses and memory. I survived because of NSG training of my PSO."

Misra said apart from him, his mentally challenged son was also poisoned.

"All the signatures point to deliberate poisoning of my mentally challenged son with Covid 19. The poor boy, who cannot even speak or eat or carry out hygiene activities himself, had to be hospitalized for 10 days, followed by months of complications."

"There was a failed attempt in poisoning me with Arsenic, probably in first week of September 2020. It failed, but it was enough to create signature of quite good amount of poisoning, leading to skeletal pain, skin peeling and nail dying," he added.

"Enough is enough. I have faith in our security apparatus and men. But these mysterious men are much more equipped, trained, lethal and determined to snuff out living witness of the most shameful incident of Indian science. I put forward to Government, intellectuals and fellow scientists and my classmates and teachers, spread across the world, that all efforts should be made to keep me and my family safe and punish these mysterious men," the scientist wrote.

"I am convinced that these are the men, embedded in our system, are leading to mysterious deaths of scientists and destruction of our institutions. These incidents should be wake up call to prevent such nefarious happening to many of our bright minds in future. The nation, which cannot protect their own people who made contributions in building it in the first place, is destined to suffer," he added.

The scientist is presently working as Senior Advisor at the ISRO and is superannuating at the end of this month.

"...This will serve as a deterrent. Media can now raise this issue if anything happens to me," Misra told reporters.