A social media post by @thebetterindia on X, praising Dr Belenso T Yimchunger from Nagaland for his significant contributions to the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology, has sparked a heated debate.
The post commended Dr Yimchunger for his role in the development of RLV technology. However, the authenticity of these claims was quickly challenged.
Sidharth.M.P, a journalist and Principal Correspondent at WION News (as mentioned on his X account), responded to a related post by Member of Rajya Sabha, @SPhangnon, calling the letter and information posted “fake” and “doctored.” He accused Dr Yimchunger of committing fraud by claiming involvement with ISRO’s RLV project, urging the deletion of the post and tagging BJP4Nagaland and Nagaland minister Temjen Along Imna.
Sidharth.M.P described himself on his X profile as a journalist focused on ISRO, defense, technology, and the space sector.
Another account, Suraj @theSunAstro, also tweeted skepticism about the claims, referring to Dr Yimchunger as an “electrician’s son” and urging the community to upvote notes discrediting the story, highlighting the need to prevent the spread of such “stories like these which have emotional background.”
When asked about these allegations, Dr Belenso T Yimchunger provided a clarification to MT.
“Our team, composed of members working in various technology companies, collaborated to develop and submit this project to ISRO. ISRO has reviewed our submission and derived valuable insights from it. However, there is some confusion because it is not widely known that we also contributed to the project,” Dr. Yimchunger explained.
He also shared a video with MT stating, “The video project is confidential but sent to you for the clarification”.
When MT informed him about the allegations including an involvement of a journalist in the ongoing controversy, he said, “I have told the cybersecurity to trace him”.