Top ISRO scientist Tapan Misra, who on Tuesday claimed that he was poisoned more than three years ago, said, “Someone definitely wanted to harm the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and it was no work of a street thug but some sophisticated espionage agency inside our organisation. The only solution is to catch the culprit and punish them.”

Misra alleged that he was poisoned with deadly arsenic trioxide on May 23, 2017, during a promotion interview at ISRO headquarters here.

He told PTI  that “poison was probably mixed with chutney along with Dosa in snacks after lunch”.

Misra, at present working as senior advisor at ISRO, is retiring at the end of this month.

In a Facebook post titled ‘Long Kept Secret’, the scientist claimed that in July 2017, Home Affairs security personnel met him and alerted him of arsenic poisoning and helped doctors to focus on exact remedy. “I suffered from health issues, including severe breathing difficulty, unusual skin eruptions, skin shedding and fungal infections.”

He also posted the medical report on the social media platform to claim he has been diagnosed with Arsenic toxication by the AIIMS, New Delhi.

“The motive appears to be espionage attack…to remove a scientist with critical contribution of very large military and commercial significance, like expertise in building Synthetic Aperture Radar,” he alleged.

Talking to PTI, Misra said, “I want the Government of India to investigate it (the incidents).” There was no immediate response from ISRO on Misra’s claims.