Surat Man Claims To Be ISRO Scientist Who Designed Chandrayaan-3’s Lander Module; Here’s What happened Next

Surat: The Gujarat police on Tuesday arrested a man who allegedly posed as a scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and gave interviews to the local media claiming that he designed the lander module for the Chandrayaan-3 moon mission. The accused, Mitul Trivedi, is in his late 30s impersonated as an ISRO scientist to draw more students to his tuition classes in Surat city, according to police.

Trivedi purportedly presented himself as the “assistant chairman” of ISRO’s “Ancient Science Application department” and even produced a counterfeit appointment letter dated February 26, 2022. Furthermore, Trivedi produced a fictitious letter asserting his role as the “space research member” for ISRO’s forthcoming venture named “mercury force in space.”

“Thorough investigation revealed that the man had no genuine connection with ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission and had fabricated false claims of being an ISRO employee,” stated the police in an official communication, as quoted by PTI.

The police had initially summoned him for verification, but his inability to substantiate his claims prompted the involvement of the Crime Branch. Ultimately, the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru confirmed his lack of affiliation with the space agency, leading to his apprehension.

By disseminating misleading information regarding ISRO, despite having no actual involvement in the ambitious project, Trivedi has tarnished the reputation of the institution, the police said in a statement. “A thorough investigation revealed that the man was in no way connected to Isro’s Chandrayaan-3 mission and had made false claims of being an ISRO employee,” it further said.

His assertions extended to claims of academic achievements at esteemed institutions, including the Cambridge University for Quantum Physics and Oxford University for Anthropology and Vedant, culminating in a Ph.D. Trivedi also boasted membership in the Archaeological Survey of India and an extraordinary proficiency in reading 45 ancient languages.

In response to the incident, the Surat city crime branch registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as per the official statement.

As for the Chandrayaan-3 mission, in a significant development, the Pragyan rover’s Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) instrument confirmed the presence of sulphur on the Moon’s south pole.

The payload performed first-of-their-kind in-situ experiments to make the discovery. Other elements detected by LIBS on the lunar surface near the Moon’s south pole include aluminium, calcium, iron, chromium, titanium, manganese, silicon, and oxygen, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a mission update.