ISRO case: studio owner taken into custody

Kollam:  Karnataka police team that was in Kollam district as part of investigations in the ISRO trespassing case on Thursday took into custody a photo studio owner and his assistant for allegedly helping a woman make a fake ID card with which she gained entry into the space agency's headquarters in Bangalore a few days back.

Police here said Sini Balan, the owner of a studio in nearby Punalur and his assistant Dibin had been taken to Bangalore for further questioning.

Buela N Sam (41) of Punalur, working in Ahmedabad, created a scare after she breached security to gain entry into the ISRO headquarters using a fake identity.

She had visited her hometown recently and allegedly made a fake identity card using which she gained access to the ISRO guest house and its headquarters.

Though police had earlier suspected involvement of a lamination centre at nearby Kottiyam, it was learnt later that the ID card was suspected to have been made from the studio in Punalur.

Beula was in Punalur earlier this month in connection with a family bereavement. Her relatives said she had undergone treatment at a mental clinic near her hometown two years ago.

Using the fake identity card, she stayed at the ISRO Satellite Centre guest-house at Jeevanbheema Nagar for two days from September 19. On September 21, she gained entry into the high-security "Anthariksh Bhavan", ISRO headquarters.

She roamed around in the building premises for a couple of hours before some ISRO staff growing suspicious, reported the matter to the security and arrested her.

PTI