Author: Statesman News Service
Publication: The Statesman
Date: December 2, 2001
The double agents in the bordering
districts of Rajasthan, who are on the 'pay rolls' of both the Indian intelligence
agencies as well as Pakistan's ISI, are becoming a menace for Central intelligence
agencies and local police alike.
State and Central agencies have
already listed about three dozen such 'double agents'. They try to give
the impression to both the opposing agencies that they are working for
them exclusively. "We are keeping surveillance on their activities, but
cannot swoop on them till we have proofs against them", said a senior Central
intelligence officer requesting anonymity.
"We have asked all our officers
posted in the bordering districts to maintain surveillance on suspected
double agents and keep a tab on all the 'rags-to riches' cases that have
suddenly mushroomed in these border districts", said the additional director
general, Rajasthan police, intelligence branch, Mr Arun Duggar. But such
investigations take a long time, sometimes months before the police get
some proof against them, said Mr Duggar.
Recently, Rajasthan police arrested
two brothers, working for Indian and Pakistan intelligence agencies for
over a decade. They could be arrested only after a month and a half's surveillance,
the ADG explained. Such people are becoming a menace for us and are likely
to create law and order problems in border districts, he added.
To keep check on espionage activities,
the state administration has also unofficially requested STD and PCO booth
owners to keep a check on phone calls made to Pakistan and inform the local
police about anything worth suspicion. What's more alarming is the fact
that in recent past there are many 'rags-to-riches' stories of people who
managed 'favours' from intelligence agencies in the name of spying. Since,
all these 'favours' are unofficial and is kept secret by all intelligence
agencies, there's little the local police can do, remarked a senior officer
of a border district of Rajasthan.
"The intelligence agencies help
them to cross the border with a hope that they would fetch some good news
from the other side, little knowing that the persons we are helping cross
the border are selling our information to ISI, purchasing contrabands and
coming back to India with information 'of hardly any use', he disclosed,
revealing the modus operandi of the double agents. "And we can't rule out
involvement of our security agencies into it", he added.
The recent arrest of the two brothers
and double agents for over a decade, Ramjan and Noor Mohammad, is the best
example. "They were taking favours both from the Indian intelligence agencies
as well as from ISI and were running their business as well", the officer
pointed out. While Ramjan worked for the Indian military intelligence,
Noor was a BSF informer. Both used to collect information from the Indian
side, pass them on to the ISI and vice -versa. Till a decade ago, they
were living in a kuchcha hut, but today they are at least millionaires
if not 'crorepatis' - a story that raised many eyebrows till they were
finally nabbed by the state police.
"We can't rule out the theory that
army officers were among those who used to shelter and give them information.
Our investigations is still on and we can't comment much on it", revealed
a senior state police officer investigating the 'double-agents' case.
