Author: Vishwa Mohan
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 25, 2006
Whether it is the navy war-room leak case or the arrests of two army jawans for spying last week, the incidents have turned out to be lessons for paramilitary forces. The security agencies have decided to tone up the their counter-surveillance mechanism.
Though the seven paramilitary forces, deployed in activities ranging from counterinsurgency operations and VIP security to border guarding, have, of late, not reported such incidents, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has asked them to be on the guard.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police has taken the lead in this direction. The paramilitary force, which guards 3,488km of the China border, has toned up its counter-surveillance wing by adopting a debriefing exercise for its jawans.
ITBP chief V K Joshi said: "We have an effective mechanism in place for counter-surveillance and we conduct a thorough de-briefing upon the return of any personnel from home." "There have been no cases of spying in the history of this paramilitary force," he added. The force had asked its DIG to strictly implement the MHA's recent manual which barred officials from carrying pen-drives and laptop computers and using bluetooth-enabled devices inside headquarters and base camps.