Bhubaneswar/Bengaluru: Top scientist and senior advisor to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Tapan Misra who hails from Odisha made startling revelations on Wednesday claiming that there is a possibility of foreign agencies behind the assassination attempt on him.
As per his claims, he was subjected to poisoning in an espionage attack three years back.
Speaking to OTV, Misra said, "While I do not rule out past enmity, this kind of sophisticated weapon requires special skills only spy agencies could possess."
He further said that he was probably the only person to survive such an espionage attack. The poison used on him was of espionage grade and it is not easy to get such things from the market.
Taking to Facebook, Misra had said that he was poisoned with deadly Arsenic Trioxide (As2O3) on 23rd May 2017 by one/some unknown enemy spy/spies during a promotion interview at ISRO Headquarters in Bengaluru.
"Fatal dose was probably mixed with chutney along with Dosa, in snacks," he claimed.
"Fortunately, that day, I did not take lunch. Arsenic passed directly to colon region and most of them got rejected through bleeding. But the small remnant created nightmare lasting 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," Misra stated.
Invoking the deaths of former ISRO scientists in the past, Misra wrote on Facebook, " We, in ISRO, had occasionally heard about the highly suspicious death of Prof. Vikram Sarabhai in 1971. Also heard occasional doubts about sudden death of Dr. S Srinivasan, Director of VSSC 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."
He hinted at the possible involvement of United States of America in the assassination attempt. As per his statement, an Indian American professor of one of the topmost US university suddenly appeared at his office on 19th July 2019 and requested him to not utter a word about the attempt on his life, which he reportedly declined.
He thanked the security agencies who took him to different cities for treatment. "I am sure, without their intervention, I would have been dead with multiple organ failure within two to three weeks," he said.
Misra demanded the Government of India to identify the culprits and take stringent action against them which could save innocent Indian scientists from getting killed by foreign agencies.
(Edited By Ramakanta Biswas)