Surat police summon man for claiming to have designed Chandrayaan-3

Surat police on Friday summoned a person named Mitul Trivedi for questioning after he claimed to have played a key role in designing Chandrayaan-3, the Indian spacecraft built by the Indian Science Research Organisation (ISRO) which successfully landed on the South Pole of the moon on Wednesday, making India the first country in the world to reach that region.

Trivedi's bold claims of being the creative force behind ISRO's lunar exploration project were met with skepticism, raising questions about the authenticity of his affiliation to the Indian space agency after he reportedly failed to show any proof of his association with ISRO.

In light of these discrepancies, the Surat Police Commissioner summoned Trivedi on Friday.

Upon reaching the Police Commissioner's office, Trivedi reportedly attempted to provide backing for his assertions by mentioning a contract from ISRO.

However, when faced with probing questions from mediapersons after coming out of the commissioner's office, he chose to evade their queries and made a swift exit.

A resident of from Swati Society on L.P. Savani Road in Surat, Trivedi's claims have sparked both interest and suspicion.

The controversy reached its peak when he confidently claimed that he was the mastermind behind the design of Chandrayaan-3. However, the veracity of his claim is being doubted due to lack of substantiated evidence supporting his association with ISRO.

As the details of this intriguing case unfolded, it surfaced that Trivedi had previously declared himself as an ISRO employee, claiming to have played a pivotal role in shaping the design of Chandrayaan-3.

His statements included his alleged affiliation with ISRO since 2011 and even a partnership with NASA from 2013 onwards.

However, he lacked official documents to support his claims, and his name is also missing from the agency's payroll.

In response to the growing speculation surrounding his assertions, Trivedi had previously stated, "I urge everyone to grant me some time; I am committed to clarifying all the doubts. As soon as the documents are available, I will provide the necessary explanations.

"I firmly believe that actions speak louder than words. If I were pursuing fraudulent intentions, I would certainly not be here facing these questions. My expertise lies in the realm of designing, and I remain closely involved with the Chandrayaan-3 project. I leave it to the discerning public to evaluate my credibility based on the available evidence."