Author: Varun Chadha
Publication: The Times of India
Date: October 29, 2007
Introduction: He met Khalistani agents and is believed to have planned blasts. He vanished before the Indian intelligence could go after him
An officer of the rank of major in the Pakistan army currently attached with the ISI was in Chandigarh four days before the Ludhiana blasts, a source in the defence forces told TOI on Friday.
In the course of his stay in Chandigarh, he met Khalistani agents and is believed to have drawn detailed plans of carrying out blasts in the region, the source said. "That the blasts took place in Ludhiana proved we had the correct information, and we later regretted that we were unable to nab him.''
The agent, the source said, vanished virtually from under Indian intelligence agents' noses after he probably realised his identity had been blown. "It was on October 10 that we had information about him the last time. Four days later, on October 14, the Ludhiana blasts took place,'' said the source.
Information about the Pak major first came from the signals corps in Jammu & Kashmir, which intercepted a couple of messages from across the border about the agent. The human intelligence also gathered and corroborated the information. It was immediately passed on to Western Command on the intervening night of October 8 and 9.
The information with the army was too sketchy to go for an immediate hunt for the major and the details were shared with the other intelligence agencies following which the ISI link gave Indian sleuths the slip.