Former Isro chief K Kasturirangan cremated with full honours in Bengaluru
K Kasturirangan served as the Isro chairman from 1994 to 2003, during a tough time for the Indian space agency amid several international restrictions.
3 min read
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah paying his last respects to Kasturirangan. (Express photo by Anjali Marar)A steady stream of friends, former colleagues from the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), and political leaders across party lines came to the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru to pay homage to Dr K Kasturirangan Sunday.
Kasturirangan, 84, who served as the Isro chairman from 1994 to 2003, passed away Friday, and his cremation was held at Hebbal Sunday afternoon with full state honours.
After Nobel laureate C V Raman and radio astronomer Professor V Radhakrishnan, it was the third instance when the mortal remains of a noted scientist were kept at RRI.
Karnataka Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, state Home Minister G Parameshwara, former Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa, and former Union law minister Veerappa Moily were among those who paid their last respects to Kasturirangan.
Speaking on the occasion, Shivakumar said, “Dr Kasturirangan’s contributions cannot be matched and there will never be another scientist like him. Soon, the Karnataka government will hold discussions and plan ways that will keep his name and scientific contributions immortal.”
Former Isro chiefs A S Kiran Kumar, K Sivan, and S Somanath were among the dozen space scientists, along with other academicians, scientists and researchers who had gathered at RRI on the day.
The visionary scientist had been ailing for the last two years due to age-related complications. After his condition deteriorated last month, he had been under palliative care at home.
Kasturirangan served at Isro for over three and a half decades — a turbulent time for the Indian space agency amid several international restrictions, including access to cryogenic technology. Under Kasturirangan’s leadership, Isro also embarked on a path of self-reliance and began planning for the big missions like Chandrayaan.
Kasturirangan later became a member of Rajya Sabha, and then a member of the erstwhile Planning Commission. He also served the government in several other advisory capacities — he either headed or was part of committees that advised the dispensation on a range of issues, including higher education, technology, as well as environment.
You May Like
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Partha Sarathi Biswal, managing director of Biswal Tradelink Private Limited (BTPL), in connection with an alleged fake bank guarantee case. “A probe has revealed that BTPL fraudulently arranged and submitted fake bank guarantees of Rs 68.2 crore along with forged State Bank of India (SBI) endorsements and fabricated confirmations for a Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) tender. For providing this bank guarantee, BTPL received Rs 5.40 crore from Reliance Power Limited,” an official said. Seven days after searching multiple locations in Mumbai linked to Anil Ambani, the ED has summoned the industrialist on August 5 to join the investigation into a money laundering case linked to a multi-crore bank loan fraud involving companies of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The ED has also issued a lookout circular (LOC) to prevent him from travelling abroad. BTPL was one of the companies where the ED recently conducted searches. Biswal's arrest was made on August 1 and he was produced before a Delhi Court, which sent him to their custody till August 6. "We are planning to confront him with Anil Ambani during questioning and will try to verify some facts," an official said. The ED has initiated its investigation against BTPL based on an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Delhi Police, against the firm, its directors and others, for allegedly providing a fake bank guarantee which was submitted to SECI. “During the investigation, the ED has collected several pieces of evidence and they confirmed the use of fake documents in the name of certain banks and fake email IDs in the name of SBI. Probe has also revealed that BTPL, a small company incorporated in 2019, maintained multiple undisclosed bank accounts and carried out transactions disproportionate to its declared turnover. Many violations of the Companies Act are found, and no statutory records are found at registered addresses, such as books of accounts, shareholders’ registers, etc,” the official said. The probe also revealed that dummy directors were used solely to sign documents, and found at least seven undisclosed bank accounts of the company. “Proceeds of crime, of crores of rupees, have been traced to these accounts,” the official added. A spokesperson for Reliance Power said the ED case related to a bank guarantee. “The company and its subsidiaries acted bona fide and have been a victim of fraud, forgery and a conspiracy. The company has made due disclosure on this to the stock exchanges on November 7, 2024. A criminal complaint in this regard has already been lodged with the Economic Offence Wing of Delhi Police against the third party on October 16, 2024. The due process of law will follow," said the spokesperson.
Photos
