New Delhi (PTI): Former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan passed away in Bengaluru on Friday, officials said.
The 84-year-old had been unwell for quite sometime.
"He left for heavenly abode this morning at his residence in Bengaluru. His body will be kept at Raman Research Institute (RRI) for paying last respects on April 27," the officials said.
Kasturirangan, who was chairman of the drafting committee of the new National Education Policy (NEP), had also served as chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and as chairman of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission.
He had also served as a member of the Rajya Sabha (2003–09) and as member of then Planning Commission of India.
Kasturirangan was also the Director of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore from April 2004 to 2009.
He had steered the Indian Space programme gloriously for over nine years as chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), of Space Commission and Secretary to the Government of India.
As an astrophysicist, Kasturirangan focused on research in high energy X-ray and gamma ray astronomy as well as optical astronomy. He had made extensive and significant contributions to studies of cosmic X-ray sources, celestial gamma-ray and effect of cosmic X-rays in the lower atmosphere.
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Mangaluru, May 15: An FIR has been registered at the Mangaluru South Police Station against three individuals and a news website for allegedly spreading false and provocative content involving Kannada daily Vartha Bharati and "Operation Sindoor".
The complaint was lodged by B.M. Basheer, News Editor of Vartha Bharati, who sought legal action against those misusing his name, the name of the newspaper, and "Operation Sindoor" to circulate misleading and defamatory content.
According to the complaint, a Facebook post by Nithin Shamanur titled ‘Operation Sindoor: Kannada Journalist’s brother’s wife Finished’ contained false information and featured a photograph of a woman and soldiers. This same post was allegedly shared by two others — Santosh Hegade and Bettampady Chandra — on their Facebook profiles. In addition, the same content was reportedly published by the website newsputtur.com.
Basheer stated that the news being circulated is completely baseless and inflammatory, and accused the individuals involved of attempting to mislead the public. He warned that such content could spark unrest, especially in the already sensitive environment of coastal Karnataka.
“This baseless and provocative misinformation in the name of ‘Operation Sindoor’ is misleading the public and has the potential to incite unrest in society,” said Basheer in his complaint. “Given the already sensitive atmosphere in coastal Karnataka due to recent developments, such rumors are likely to further destabilize the situation.”
He demanded strict legal action against Nithin Shamanur, Santosh Hegade, Bettampady Chandra, and the editor of newsputtur.com, including registration of a criminal case and a thorough investigation into the matter.
Acting on the complaint, the Mangaluru South Police have registered an FIR against all four accused under relevant sections for allegedly spreading false, defamatory, and inflammatory content online. Further investigation is underway.