THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Praveen Maurya, a rocket scientist working at the Indian Space Research Organisation’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Kerala, has made fresh and serious allegations about a Kerala-based lobby engaged in espionage inside ISRO.
In a video titled “The Lobby Part-1” posted on X today, Maurya claims the group sells sensitive military, defence and government data collected by ISRO to foreign spies operating through Dubai. He says the entire operation enjoys protection from the Kerala Police and the state government.
Maurya also alleges that the lobby decides which ISRO missions will succeed or fail. He says it deliberately sabotages important defence projects that would strengthen the country.
In the video, Maurya describes reaching out to former ISRO director Tapan Misra in June 2022 for help and guidance. Misra had himself claimed he was poisoned with arsenic in Bengaluru in 2017.
Maurya said he explained the Kerala lobby and its long-term anti-national activities. He told Misra that information gathered by ISRO from military, defence and other government departments was being sold to foreign entities through Dubai, with full protection from Kerala Police and the government.
According to Maurya, Misra replied that the lobby was too powerful. “You can’t harm them. They are very powerful. And when you raise your voice, they’ll kill you. So stay quiet. Do whatever work you have. Go for coaching,” Misra reportedly said before hanging up.
Maurya added that he later messaged Misra again at 7 pm. He said he wanted to fight and expose the entire business before the country. Misra then suggested they continue the conversation on WhatsApp.
This is not Maurya’s first set of claims. His allegations date back to late 2021 and gained public attention in 2022. Maurya has clarified that he is not an ex-ISRO scientist and still holds his ISRO card. He said he worked on projects including India’s first manned space mission, Gaganyaan.
Maurya said a neighbour named Ajikumar Surendren, who claimed links to Dubai, approached him and offered huge sums of money to leak classified ISRO data. When Maurya refused, he said he faced threats, a honey-trap attempt and false criminal cases.
In January 2022, Maurya filed internal complaints about what he called a “Kerala lobby” working with foreign spies. He named certain officials, including Dr Deependran B.
In February 2022, police arrested him on charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Maurya claimed the case was fabricated using Surendren’s minor daughter. He said no drugs were recovered and the girl’s statement under Section 164 of the CrPC did not support the charges. He was granted bail after three days but was suspended by ISRO.
Maurya wrote multiple letters to the Prime Minister, the ISRO Chairman, the Union Home Minister and other authorities between April and November 2022. He demanded an intelligence inquiry into the espionage attempts. He alleged that senior ISRO officers gave him poor performance ratings to block his promotion and that Kerala Police colluded with the lobby.
In one letter he stated that spies had coerced him to share classified information on India’s space programme and threatened him when he refused. He also claimed post-bail honey-trap attempts through explicit WhatsApp messages and video calls from unknown numbers.
In March 2025, Maurya revived his claims on X with even stronger accusations. On March 6, 2025, he wrote: “They are planning disruption activities such as terror, bombing, political propaganda, and civil war all over India. The Maoist traitor lobby of VSSC/ISRO passes all the information collected from all over India to the Spy network which operates via Dubai/UAE.”
The very next day he posted: “I request @DRDO_India to never share any info with VSSC/@isro. I witnessed the details of the AD-1 model of the Hypersonic Brahmos Missile that came for testing from DRDL at HWTD/VSSC being communicated to the spy network by my Group Director, at VSSC.”
Maurya has described himself as a North Indian scientist who refused to join what he calls the “Maoist Traitor Lobby of Kerala.” He claims this led to his abduction, torture and destruction of his life. In one post he said: “It is shamelessly written in my FIR that ‘Praveen is a North Indian’, probably because being a north Indian is a crime in Kerala, or perhaps being a north Indian I did not participate with the Maoist Traitor’s Lobby of Kerala in waging war against India.”
Maurya fought the cases himself for three years and was fully acquitted in 2025. He has released a series of Instagram reels under the handle @life.neeti titled “My Story,” which went viral and detailed his ordeal.
He recently posted on X that his Instagram account has been suspended. In one post he wrote, “Need your help, My Instagram account is Suspended. The Price we pay for speaking the Truth. These Traitors should reply to my claims rather than suppressing my Voice.” In the video post itself he added, “They deleted my instagram account where I was exposing them to millions.” The suspension happened while he was reaching millions of viewers with his story.
Maurya has repeatedly called for a probe by the National Investigation Agency or central intelligence agencies. He has compared his situation to the 1994 ISRO espionage case involving scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was later exonerated. In April 2026, the Supreme Court directed the National Human Rights Commission to investigate alleged human rights violations during his arrest and treatment.
ISRO and the Kerala government have not issued any official response to Maurya’s latest video or earlier claims. No arrests linked to the alleged spy network have been reported so far.
Maurya continues to post videos on X, including “The Lobby Part-1” and clarification videos. He says he records every call and has shared documents with the Prime Minister’s Office and other authorities.
The case has drawn renewed attention online. Many users are demanding an independent inquiry into possible threats to national security and India’s space and defence programmes. Maurya maintains that he is speaking the truth at great personal cost and has urged the central government and NIA to act.
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