S K Sharma, wrongly fixed in ISRO spy case, dies

Sudhir Kumar Sharma (62), who was wrongly fixed in 1994 ISRO spy case, died of oesophagus cancer in the city on Thursday.

A labour contractor from Bengaluru, is survived by wife and three daughters.

He was arrested in November 1994 by the Kerala police under espionage charges. He was released after 50 days.

Along with Sharma, ISRO scientist N Nambi Narayanan and four others were accused in the case. Recently, the Supreme Court said that the entire case was criminal frame-up and directed to pay Rs 50 lakh to Narayana as compensation. Sharma was also expecting to get the compensation for the trauma he was forced to endure. He fought hard to clear his name in the case and to restore his reputation.

Sharma was a close friend of Isro scientist K Chandrasekhar, who was then India’s representative to Russian space agency Glavkosmos. When Chandrasekhar was accused of selling Indian rocket-engine designs to a Maldivian national, Sharma was deemed guilty by association.

Chandrasekhar met two Maldivians at the Thiruvananthapuram airport who were cheated by agents after promising admission to their children. Chandrasekhar asked Sharma to help them to get admission. This turned his life upside down. The police found his telephone number with a Maldivian woman and arrested him.