Author: Bhavna Vij-Aurora
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: February 3, 2008
URL: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080203/jsp/nation/story_8856996.jsp
The home ministry has asked all security establishments
to watch out for possible infiltration of their ranks by terrorists or their
sympathisers.
The warning has come after investigators and
intelligence agencies confirmed that the New Year-eve attack on the CRPF camp
in Rampur that killed seven jawans and a civilian was an "inside job".
The Intelligence Bureau suspects this may
not be an isolated case of infiltration.
Based on IB inputs, the home ministry has
written to the defence ministry asking it to warn the three armed forces that
they may have been compromised. Minister of state for home Sriprakash Jaiswal
confirmed this.
All security establishments, including the
central paramilitary forces, have been asked to do a sabotage check on their
personnel.
"Although there is a drill at the entry
level where all recruits are verified thoroughly and their backgrounds checked,
there is always the possibility that a few of them, seen as amenable targets,
are approached to help the terrorists later. So we can never let our guard
down and need to keep checking regularly," an intelligence official said.
The CRPF camp attack is worrying because this
is the first instance of successful infiltration. "There are reports
of infiltration from various paramilitary forces and even the army several
times. But most are detected and taken care of without making them public.
However, this is one case where it went undetected and the personnel managed
to help the terrorists," the official said.
Officials from IB and the Research and Analysis
Wing will help the paramilitary forces screen new recruits as well as personnel
who might have spent over five or 10 years in service.
The security agencies have been asked to keep
a tab on soldiers' bank accounts as well as property acquisition or change
in behaviour and lifestyle.
"Although there are several in-built
checks and balances in the form of the hierarchical control system, one can
never be too sure about these things. Even if a single person in an organisation
is subverted, it can be potentially extremely dangerous. There are opportunities
galore for security personnel to indulge in acts threatening national security
or life of a VVIP or a sensitive structure like the Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre," the official said.
