Hyderabad: The sudden dismissal of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief Avinash Chander by the Modi government without any specific reason has left the scientist community distraught.

Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar stated on Wednesday that the government was looking to appoint someone younger than the 64-year-old Mr Chander. But scientists point out that the same government, in complete contradiction, had appointed the 62-year-old A.S. Kiran Kumar as head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) just two days ago.

Mr Chander commanded immense respect among fellow scientists and those posted in the Hyderabad-based DRDO labs are upset with the decision.

“He was a very respected scientist. The way it was handled by the government was very wrong. If they wanted him out, they should have quietly asked him to resign,” a top DRDO scientist said, adding, “It is as though they are punishing someone for being involved in a scandal. He is one of the most knowledgeable scientists in the country. Naturally everybody is very sad and angry.”

However, the move may not have a large impact on current DRDO projects though there will be some settling time and re-orientation of the premier defence body, scientists say.

Mr Chander had been instrumental in developing the missile programme of the country, particularly after sanctions were imposed on India consequent to the Pokhran nuclear tests. He was the chief architect of the Agni missile projects. However, it is widely believed that delays in various DRDO projects has influenced the move.

Mr Chander himself had rued the lag in Indian defence technology development but had often attributed it to the lack of the supplementing technology infrastructure capacity in the country and the need to import all sophisticated technologies.