Author:
Publication: The Indian
Express
Date: December 3, 2000
Introduction: J Dey explores
the intricate labyrinth woven by the ISI in Mumbai and discovers a low-intensity
war being waged right here in the heart of this city.
He could he your neighbour,
vegetable vendor or worse even your plumber. Deep in the soul of
this city, a low-intensity war involving hardcore agents of Pakistan's
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) inextricably linked to the local underworld
is being waged. But you wouldn't know it. Offering anonymity
and replete with unemployed employed youth hungry for a 'mission', Mumbai
has been playing host to one of the most active terrorist outfits in the
world. A hunting ground for new recruits, it is also a stopover for
agents passing through to other parts of the country. On occasion,
their "ions" he here, in the heart of this very city. But you wouldn't
know it. That is, not until a couple of agents are caught with, say
fake currency notes and others, who had plotted to kill a former Gujarat
chief minister, are arrested.
Officers in Indian intelligence
agencies say the missions of these agents are often long-term and they
lie dormant for years. This makes it extremely difficult to identity
them, meshing as they do with the local population. For instance,
in December 1999, as many as five ISI agents rented a flat in a middle-class
housing colony in Jogeshwari and were in direct telephonic contact with
the hijackers of the Indian Airlines IC-814 aircraft in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
ISI activities gained
momentum in Mumbai in 1992, peaking in 1999, when 15 agents were arrested
in 10 months. The omnipresent underworld gives them a definite advantage.
Among the local gangs with mafia bosses abroad which assist the ISI is
the Dawood Ibrahim faction. Smuggling fake currency notes to fund
their activities is among their most low-profile but wider spread activities.
The agents usually belong to one of 14 outfits controlled by the Pakistan
based United Jehad Council. They enter the country alone and unarmed
with arrangements being made by an ISI agent who has already set up base
in the city. Trained recruits usually infiltrate from the porous
Nepal, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Kashmir borders. From there, the rest
is easy.
Far from any romanticised
notion of the typical spy, they appear to be ordinary people. Trained
to mince with the local population, which is not difficult because of the
geographical proximity and common language, they pose as milkmen, hawkers
etc, before gaining the confidence to execute a "mission'.
But even as a stream
of recruits enters the country, another, quiet but well-orchestrated movement
is taking place in Mumbai's underworld. This mainly comprises an
exodus of unskilled workers making beeline to Middle East capitals, apparently
in search of employment though colluding with intelligence operatives of
unfriendly neighbouring countries. Potential criminals and militants
are spirited away by Dubai-based outfits, from where they head for ISI
base camps in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. This, intelligence agencies
say, accounts for the rush of unskilled workmen to Dubai despite the saturation
of jobs.
Not surprisingly, they
are ill-qualified and aged between 18 and 25, a ripe age for militant training.
Intelligence officers say that over 1,000 youths have flown to Dubai in
the last two years. The operation, coordinated by the Karachi-based
Dawood Ibrahim, has thus far tapped predominantly Muslim localities in
Mumbai such as Dongri, Antop Hill, Jogeshwari (W), Malwani and Cheeta Camp
in Trombay in Mumbai and Bhiwandi and Kausa near Mumbra in Thane district.
Intelligence agencies
have found that each recruitment drive is accompanied by a sudden spurt
in the number of travel agents in target areas in Mumbai. Set up
on pavements and any innocuous-looking nook and cranny, they forge and
expedite the travel documents for the agents' onward journey.
Underplaying the role
of ISI operations in the city, Joint Commissioner of Police (Detection)
D Sivanandhan told Newsline: "Mumbai is not sitting on a volcano." But,
he admits, "ISI agents here are backed by underworld gangs operating from
Pakistan. The police are taking all preventive measures and some
of the most important mission have been foiled m recent years."
