Brajesh Mishra aids RAW spy to escape

Maj Rabindra Singh disappeared taking advantage of the then National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra not agreeing to the RAW report for his arrest. Brajesh Mishra, awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2011 for his anti- national activity!
Missing Indian spy found in US
By Iftikhar Gilani Tuesday, March 14, 2006
NEW DELHI: Rabindra Singh, a senior Indian spy who went missing in May 2004 after suspected of becoming a double agent and passing on secret and classified documents to the Americans, has been ultimately traced in the countryside of Virginia state in the United States after 22 months of hunt.
The government knew from very first day of his escape that he had fled to the United States for whom he was spying in Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s top external intelligence agency. His whereabouts, however, remained unknown until recently. A Delhi daily on Monday said Rabindra, a clean-shaven Sikh who was a joint secretary in RAW at the time of his escape just as he was to be arrested, is living in disguise with his wife and two children in Virginia. The Indian agencies have established his identity on the basis of his latest photograph in disguise and other evidences and now intense efforts are on to bring him to justice.
India and United States have the extradition treaty that may be explored to ask the US authorities to arrest Rabindra and send him back to India, though the authorities are sceptic in succeeding since Rabindra had become the American agent in RAW. Rabindra was under surveillance by the counter-intelligence unit of RAW on suspicion that he was photocopying sensitive files and classified information and handing them over to the US intelligence officials based in Delhi. He was already filmed zeroxing classified documents in his office after the agency bosses smelt rat the way he was hosting parties for the foreign secret agents.
He and his family, however, disappeared taking advantage of the then National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra not agree to the RAW report for his arrest. His handlers in the US intelligence network in the American embassy had tipped him off that their clandestine dealings with him were no longer secret. He fled to Nepal via Bihar border and then managed to reach the Untied States with the help of the undercover operatives of the US intelligence.
Rabinder was part and parcel of several undercover missions and was one of the 15 joint secretaries in the country’s top external intelligence agency’s secretariat at the time of his escape. His disappearance had caused a lot of concern in the government since he knew a lot about the counter-intelligence missions and as such he can harm the national interests.
He was a major in the Army before he came to RAW on deputation to RAW in the 80s and was absorbed in the RAW service on completion of the deputation. Rated a poor intelligence analyst, he had talent to be a better field operative. During his RAW career, he worked in Amritsar and subsequently as a field operative in West Asia and West Europe to monitor activities of the terrorist groups and Sikh militants operating from there. In Amritsar, he was assigned the task of collecting transborder intelligence.
Missing Indian spy found in US

Powerful Arms Lobby Target Veterans especially those who have served in Int Agencies

Jeet- The Cloak And Dagger Operative
If one was in position to select, shortlist or influence the decision making process in equipment acquisition, tempting offers, of diverse kind, if not actual bribes were always there: sometimes direct at others subtle. Sadly tempting offers made3 by friends who are in employ of the interested parties. More amazingly by the colleagues and surprisingly, at times, by the same superiors whilst in service.
Even after retirement, my phone continued ringing incessantly, with juicy offers, from different individuals offering handsome salary (maximum permissible those days), house with a car at disposal. With me trying not to be rude, evasive in response, the callers, becoming desperate and more persistent by the day, with remarks such as ‘Your value is diminishing every day.’ Lodge an FIR! Easier said than done, one does not jump in the unknown just like that, what proof could be produced to support some fleeting remark, interspersed in a casual conversations, that transpired, in the office, on the staircase, in the car park or even during dinner at a friends place.
When even assertions made by the Chief of Army Staff can challenged and contested by the so called perpetrator, what chance a mere Brigadier would have stood and to what purpose. These things happen and will continue to do so. How to tackle the situation depends on the individuals: discipline inculcated during training and service, strength of character and moral courage, the value system inherited from the family background and more importantly the support from your wife.
With me under threats along with the offers, she would be looking back at the rear-view mirror, when were out driving, if some suspicious looking car was following us., no doubt quite thrilled in the process by becoming part of the Cloak and Dagger thrills and challenges.
Brig Lakshman Singh

Spooks in the Spy Agencies

Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh in fresh row over purchase of phone-tapping machines Reported by Nitin A Gokhale | Updated: May 28, 2012 15:46 IST New Delhi: After being under the scanner for allegedly offering the Army Chief a bribe, Lieutenant General (retired) Tejinder Singh could be in for more trouble.
NDTV has learnt that the government is now investigating an unauthorised purchase of five phone-tapping machines by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2010. Lt General Singh was the head of the DIA when the purchases were made. The equipment was allegedly bought violating the guidelines of procurement.
Last year the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), which is under the Prime Minister's Office, had asked the DIA to explain the procurement. Sources have told NDTV that Lieutenant General Singh or his successor at DIA have failed to give a satisfactory explanation to the charges.
The monitoring equipment in question is used to for surveillance on mobile-phone conversations along the Line of Control (LoC) and international borders.
The allegation against Lieutenant General Singh comes after Army Chief General V K Singh accused him of offering a bribe a year and a half ago to influence a defence deal. One of the allegations made was that Tejinder Singh offered a bribe to General Singh on behalf of a company called Tatra and Vectra Limited. That matter is now being investigated by the CBI, which has recorded the Army Chief's statement and quizzed Tejinder.
Lieutenant General Tejinder Singh in fresh row over purchase of phone-tapping machines
Tejinder Singh's fortunes come a full circle

The bitter side of spying

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: April 17, 2011 11:10 IST
Gurdaspur (Punjab): The case of Indian spy Gopal Dass, who returned home last week after spending 27 years in prison in Pakistan, has sparked off renewed interest in what actually goes on in this shadowy world.
Once a master spy, Karamat Rahi is now tea stall owner. Six years ago, he returned to his village in Gurdaspur, Punjab, after spending 18 years in Pakistani jails.
After his return, Karamat sought compensation from the Indian intelligence agency he worked for, but was refused. He moved court but his plea was turned down so he now plans to move a higher court.
"We spend difficult times in those jails, we are half dead in those interrogations. Now when we can't do anything we should get something to do business. Also, what do I do without pension? I am 58 and worth nothing," says Karamat.
Fifty kilometre away, in village Daduwal that once had a dozen spies working for Indian agencies, Sunil was lured into spying by a fellow villager. But three years later, he was caught in Pakistan and jailed.
He returned home after seven years. Physically weak and depressed, he is now fully dependant on his wife who works as a domestic help.
"We worked for the country and what we got was tears of blood. We don't get anything," says Sunil.
Grefan tried his hands at spying but soon decided to quit. But his mentors just won't let him. He alleges that Indian agencies implicated him in three false cases.
He now works as a labourer and earns Rs. 3000 a month.
"I refused to work for these agencies since they did not care. When I stopped working, I was implicated in false cases - of bomb blast. But I was proved innocent; they slapped more cases," he says.
Along the border belt in Punjab, almost every third village has a spy who once worked for Indian agency. These spies say they never got a fair deal; they say the way they have been ignored they feel they are the children of lesser God.
The bitter side of spying

Impingement of Official Secrets Act investigated for quarter century!

A retired lieutenant general has been put on trial by a Delhi court for allegedly divulging sensitive secret information about the country's arms and ammunition system to an international arms dealing firm, impinging upon the nation's security.

Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja put Lieutenant General (retd) Nirmal Puri on trial along with M/s Concord International Pvt Ltd's official Vinod Khanna, whom the top army officer had allegedly supplied sensitive information in 1984-87.

The court put the duo on trial after framing charges under various provisions of the Official Secret Act and the India Penal Code against them.

"During the period 1984-87, both of you entered into criminal conspiracy in order to obtain, collect, communicate secret/ classified/ official information/ documents pertaining to the defence of the country with the purpose that same may be prejudicial to the safety or interest of the state," the court said.

Puri is alleged to have prepared two hand-written notes containing classified information regarding equipment like light tanks, radio sets for AFV, training simulators and others.

The notes were recovered during search conducted in the premises of M/s Concord International Pvt Ltd from its Golf Links office here on February 2, 1987.

"During the aforesaid period, you being Lieutenant General in the Indian Army and having access, owing to your position as a person who had held office under the Indian Army, wilfully communicated such note/ information to Khanna, a person who is other than to whom you were authorised to communicate it," the ASJ said.

Khanna was charged with obtaining the information which "might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy".

The court noted the disclosure of such information "is likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state or friendly relations with foreign state".

Puri had joined the Indian Army on December 11, 1949 and had retired on March 17, 1985.

The FIR was registered in January 1988 against Puri and Khanna following a complaint by D M L Malhotra, Under Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, and the charge sheet was filed in 1989.
Army's Ex-Lt Gen on Trial for Leaking Official Secrets

All Officers shortlisted for CVC tainted- Who heads dishonesty?

CVC drags Govt deeper
February 03, 2011 11:57:16 AM
Abraham Thomas | New Delhi
Reveals that all 9 officers shortlisted for CVC’s post were tainted

Raising a serious question mark over the procedures followed by the Centre in the empanelment of IAS officers from States, CVC PJ Thomas on Tuesday revealed that all the nine officers who were empanelled with the Centre in 2008 — including him — were chargesheeted or had complaints pending against them. Singling him out as a “unique case” was not proper, he pointed out.

The charge made by Thomas in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court has put a question mark on the whole empanelment process which allows any officer to move from States to the Centre and occupy an important position in the Union Government.

The Government had claimed that while empanelling Thomas as Central Government officer in 2008, CVC clearance was obtained and this was held out to be a certificate of his “impeccable integrity”.

The disclosure comes ahead of the Thursday hearing in the Supreme Court when the court is to take a final call on the suitability of Thomas to continue as CVC in view of a pending charge-sheet against him in the palmolein import scam, which dates back to 1991-92 during his tenure as Food Secretary with the Kerala Government.

In his affidavit, Thomas said, “Virtually every single officer in the zone of consideration (for empanelment at Centre) had complaints or chargesheets pending.” Besides him, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) prepared note with regard to eight other officers, who had far more serious charges of corruption, misappropriation and embezzlement listed against them. Except one, all other officers got cleared.

Relying on the data collected from the Department of Personnel and Training, Thomas said, “An impression has been created that my case is a unique one, and that I alone suffer some taint against my name. Clearly, it is routine for officers in the discharge of their duties to have cases slapped against them, many of which are trumped up or politically motivated.”

Defending others of his like who were chargesheeted, the affidavit added, “In an environment where a bureaucrat bears the brunt of protests against governmental action, it is necessary that an objective view be taken of how we officers function.”

But a look at the charges leveled against the officers defies all imagination of how these could be politically motivated. One of the cleared officers BR Kundal has been chargesheeted for misappropriation of sale proceeds of essential commodities. VS Dhumal, another officer whom CVC cleared, faces a complaint of immovable property acquired disproportionate to known sources of his income.

Tejinder Kaur is a unique case who got clearance despite Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recommending action for transfer of 15 acres of Government land to a cricket association, a matter which is sub-judice. There is also one Ashok Kumar, who got cleared despite a complaint pending against him of misuse of office and corrupt practices. Also, one Brajebeharaj Mahapatra survived the CVC scrutiny in the face of a chargesheet regarding wrongly claiming reimbursements and penalty of reduction to lower scale of pay imposed. There is a separate complaint of corruption pending against him in which the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has recommended punishment.

Aware of the Centre’s stand in trying to distance itself from the controversy and the subsequent pressure on him to resign, Thomas stood his ground in the affidavit highlighting his merits --- being the senior-most among the serving cadre of Secretaries, and holding experience in administration, vigilance and policy making posts. Making out a case that the palmolein “taint” against him was political, Thomas said, “I have been held out to the public as a tainted officials. This is rather tragic as my record during 37 years of service has been without blemish.”

Tainted Thomas
•Singling him out as a ‘unique case’ not proper, says Thomas
•Allegations could be politically motivated, he submits in court
•Thomas lists his merits as ‘senior-most among the serving Secretaries, and holding experience in administration, vigilance and policy-making’
•Another empanelled member, Tejinder Kaur, got clearance despite CBI recommending action for transfer of 15-acre Govt land, he says
•Brajebeharaj, who had also been empanelled, survived CBI scrutiny despite being indicted by UPSC
•The disclosure comes ahead of the Thursday hearing in the Supreme Court when the court is to take a final call
CVC drags Govt deeper

Corruption disgraces India: PM
New Delhi: Corruption dents India's image, hampers good governance and needs to be tackled "boldly and quickly", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday.
"Corruption strikes at the roots of good governance. It is an impediment to faster growth. It dilutes, if not negates, our efforts at social inclusion," Manmohan Singh said, two days after former communications minister A. Raja was arrested for his suspected role in the 2G spectrum scam, billed as the country's biggest to date.
"It dents our international image and it demeans us before our own people," the prime minister said, addressing the second annual conference of chief secretaries of states here.
He said the challenge of corruption needed to "be faced frontally, boldly and quickly".
Corruption dents India's image, tackle it boldly- Read more

Newsletter from Veekay

Dear Friends,
Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year. My newsletter click here.
Vinay and Kumud Singh

Extracts from Veekay Newsletter 2010
The year is coming to an end and it is time for the annual ritual of connecting with friends, acquaintances, comrades and colleagues. I do not recall the last time I sent a New Year's card or a hand written letter. Ever since we started using e-mail, letters have become passé. Until a few years ago, very few people had a computer and one had to write a letter. The advent of mobile telephony has put paid to the art of letter writing altogether. What a pity. I have begun to relish the advantages of being a senior citizen. One can buy rail tickets at a 30% discount. (Women get 50%, but Kumud is still to qualify. Even when she does, I think she would rather pay the full fare than be classified as a senior citizen!). Youngsters, especially girls, sometimes offer you a seat in the Metro. Shopkeepers, parking attendants and handymen address you as uncle, though hardly anyone calls Kumud an auntie, and woe betide anybody who dares...

There is little change in our routine. I go to the gym in the DSOI, which is a stone’s throw from my house, at 0645, returning at 0745 or so. Kumud goes at 0830 and returns only when the gym closes at 1000. By this time I have gone through my newspapers, had my bath and my breakfast and am ready to leave for Signals Enclave, where the Corps History Cell is located. On the days I have a hearing in Tis Hazari or the High Court, I have to give the gym amiss. The Ansal Plaza is next door and Kumud does not miss a movie. She is usually accompanied by my daughter in law or one of her gym buddies. They go for the morning show, when the children are at school and the tickets are cheaper. Twice a week, I too get a chance to go to the mall – it has a Reliance Fresh outlet and buying vegetables is one of the chores entrusted to me.

Signal Officer battles corruption

I became victim of personal vendetta

Loud whistle: Major General (retd) V.K. Singh / Photo: Sanjay Ahlawat






INTERVIEW/MAJ. GEN. (RETD) V.K. SINGH, FORMER JOINT SECRETARY, R&AW
No government likes it when its spies talk about their jobs. In fact, under the Official Secrets Act, employees of security services are not allowed to disclose anything to anyone about any aspect of their work. Even after retirement, these officers are discouraged to write and speak on intelligence matters. When Major General (retd) V.K. Singh published his book, India’s External Intelligence—Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing, he was charged with the crime of violating the OSA. His house was ransacked and his passport seized. In an interview with THE WEEK, he speaks about the legal struggle, holes in the case against him and how he became a victim of personal vendetta.

Had you ever thought that your book would bring you such trouble?
I had no idea that the book would invite such a reaction from the authorities. While I was in R&AW, I noticed several aberrations such as indiscipline, lack of accountability and corruption. The professionalism and pride that one associates with a premier organisation were absent. I felt that these anomalies should be corrected and this would only happen if they were brought to the notice of the public. In fact, the most important issue that I wanted to raise was corruption. During my stay, I noticed a few cases in R&AW as well as the SPG, where equipment appeared to have been procured from foreign vendors at exorbitant prices or without the mandatory security checks.

What are the charges that have been levelled against you?
The main charges against me are that I have given the charter of R&AW recommended by the Group of Ministers on National Security in 2001; that I revealed the names of officers and locations of R&AW stations; and that I gave details about certain projects in R&AW.
Firstly, the contents of the GoM report were the subject of several articles in 2001, some of which I have referred to in my book. At the time of its formal release on May 23, 2001, the chapter on intelligence was deleted. The report, minus the deleted portions, is still available on the web site of the ministry of defence. The names of all the officers are available on the Department of Personnel and Training web site. In August 2009, the CBI held its biennial conference at Vigyan Bhavan, in Delhi. The list of attendees was circulated to all departments of the government. It had the names and appointments of about 30 officers of R&AW. In a recent decision, the Central Information Commission has ordered the DoPT to give the names of all officers above the rank of joint secretary posted to R&AW from 2001 to 2008. So, the anonymity of R&AW officers is a myth.
It is common knowledge that R&AW officers are posted in foreign countries. The location of R&AW stations in India is also known to vendors who are given turn-key projects for installation of equipment, such as VSAT terminals.

Many say that if no action was taken against you, it would have encouraged other disaffected officers to write about intelligence agencies?
Not all officers who write books are disaffected. People like Sankaran Nair [former R&AW chief], T.S.R. Subramanian [former cabinet secretary] and General (retd) V.P. Malik [former Army chief] had reached the top of their professions. They can hardly be considered disaffected. Recently, an official history of MI-6, the British intelligence agency, was published. There are several books written by officers who have served in the CIA. Such books form a part of history. As you are aware, in 2008 a gag order was issued through a gazette, according to which all officers serving in such agencies will have to give an undertaking that they will not write anything after retirement. If they do, the officer will forfeit his pension. I believe the DoPT has asked the defence minister also to publish a similar gazette for armed forces personnel. If that happens, soon there will be no Indian military history.

There are a couple of books written by former intelligence officials, including one by B. Raman [former head of the counter-terrorism division of R&AW ] that accuses [former Prime Minister] Rajiv Gandhi of influencing the Bofors probe. The authors were never harassed.
The other authors, such as Raman, Sankaran Nair and [former IB joint director] Maloy Dhar, were insiders, who know much more than what they have written. If they are prosecuted, they will reveal many things which would be even more embarrassing. I was an outsider, and thus no threat to them. I became the victim of a personal vendetta. In my book, I had mentioned the names of many officers in R&AW who were inefficient and involved in corruption. I had also mentioned a senior officer who did not attend office for eight months after being overlooked for promotion. Though I have not mentioned his name in the book, it was common knowledge that the man was Ashok Chaturvedi, who later became the R&AW chief. I am told he was furious at the mention of this incident in the book. He and his number two, Sanjiv Tripathi, were instrumental in launching the case against me.

Are you saying that there were many attempts to harass and implicate you?
Yes, there were. While I was in R&AW, I had been given a Maruti car, without a driver, to commute. I was then staying at RK Puram. One night the car was stolen from outside my flat. I lodged an FIR next morning but the car was never found. A few months after the case against me was initiated, I came to know that some people in R&AW were trying to locate the person who had been my orderly at that time. They planned to pay him a large sum, and get him to state that the car was not stolen but had been sold by me.
They also tried to plant documents on me. I remember a few weeks before my home was raided on September 21, 2007, a person by the name of Shakti Prakash called me up. He said that he had read my book and that he was being harassed by R&AW as he was being forced to become an agent. I told him that I had retired and had nothing to do with R&AW now, but he pleaded for a meeting. I along with an Army colleague, who had also been with me in R&AW, met him at USI Library in Delhi. He handed over to me a bunch of papers and asked me to go through them and advise him what to do. The folder had letters addressed to the President, Prime Minister and many others, complaining of harassment by R&AW. I brought the folder home and forgot all about it. Later, when the CBI raided my house they took away the folder and produced it in court when they opposed my plea for anticipatory bail. I still don’t know whether Shakti Prakash was a plant, or a genuine sufferer at the hands of R&AW.

How easy is it for intelligence agencies to wrongly implicate a person?
Very easy. The Samba spy case is a ?perfect example. Innocent people spent 14 years in jail on charges trumped up by military intelligence. More recently, Captain B.K. Subbarao and Iftikar Geelani were similarly prosecuted and later acquitted. Unlike the famous Dreyfus case in France, where the persons who had falsely implicated him were punished, in India this never happens. On the other hand, they get out-of-turn promotions and monetary awards.
I became victim of personal vendetta: Maj Gen VK Singh
RAW: Controversies, Spies and Scandals- click here to read more

RAW: Centre for Cancerous Corruption

New Delhi: Using secret funds to purchase cars for staff, buying snoop equipment worth $350 million without conducting user trials, building a whole new tower in the new office without any clearances — a string of controversies has gripped the country’s premier foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

RAW, incidentally, is the recipient of the largest amount of secret funds, close to Rs 350 crore this year. While there are provisions for an internal audit by a CAG official posted in the agency, its findings are never made public or even shared in a sealed envelope with a Parliamentary committee.

The latest controversies come when efforts are on to replace RAW chief K C Verma before his retirement in January next year.

Indications are that S K Tripathi, the head of RAW's air wing, the Aviation Research Centre, will take over. But Tripathi retires in December, a month before Verma. So, for him to become RAW chief, Verma has to be moved out and sources said he's likely to go to the National Technical Research Organisation, where he would get another three years.

RAW Chief K C Verma, when contacted by The Sunday Express, declined to comment.

The key controversies:
About 30 Maruti Altos were purchased -- using secret funds -- to allegedly mollify the much-agitated junior official staff that had complaints over slow promotions and related service conditions. The procurement has been shown for "operational" purposes and it's learnt that the cars have just been handed over to each deputy secretary. A couple of them, sources said, have apparently refused to accept a car if they don't get a driver with it.

The Finance Ministry has questioned RAW for incurring almost double the expenditure for construction of a new building near the CGO complex in the capital after adding a third tower without taking clearances. While Rs 90 crore was sanctioned to construct a building with two wings in 2005, a third wing was added without taking the required clearances, shooting cost up to Rs 160 crore. With the finance department strongly objecting to changes in the design plan, the building has been lying unused for over a year now. For, no money has been released to complete the interiors. It is learnt that an internal committee of RAW has been asked to report on how these changes were sanctioned.

The Finance Department of the Cabinet Secretariat -- under which RAW falls -- is also learnt to have raised serious objections against two major contracts that have been finalised by the agency, including a $350-million deal to supply airborne electronic surveillance systems. Besides concerns on competitiveness of the bids, the main objection is that both contracts were finalised without carrying out user trials, as is the norm in all defence contracts.

Also under the scanner is the purchase of a VSAT (satellite communication) monitoring system. In December 2009, RAW approved the purchase of untested interception equipment to snoop on enemy satellite communication on the basis of a "live performance" in Ukraine and not on the basis of user trials at home. Moreover, a top RAW official cited ISRO's endorsement of the system to clear the purchase worth Rs 11.7 crore. However, records later showed that ISRO had, in fact, rejected the system. This was confirmed in writing by the Defence Intelligence Agency -- under the Ministry of Defence -- that was ordering a similar system through ISRO. The purchase of the VSAT monitoring system has also invited objections from the Finance Department of the Cabinet Secretariat.
Source: The Indian Express
RAW data: secret funds buy cars, an office under cloud
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Taking the fight to corruption: IIM Ahmedabad students and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam join hands to start an Anti-Corruption Helpline.

National Security: Army Major's computer was accessed from Pakistan

14/06/2010
New Delhi: Security agencies probing the role of an Andaman- based Army Major have claimed to have found that his computer and emails had been remotely accessed from a server located in Pakistan, a finding that has come as a jolt for them.

The probe also indicated that the National Investigating Agency and Military Intelligence officials had neglected the case property--the computer of the Army Major--and certain files and mails were deleted when the machine was in their custody, official sources said.

During the probe, it was also found that the computer of the army officer had been accessed many a time from a proxy server based in Pakistan and one more country, the location of which was being examined.

It seemed the other server could also be from Pakistan but the proxy server addresses had been hopped through various Internet gateways of European countries.

The Army major, who is being investigated by various security agencies, came under the scanner when his email address was picked up while scanning the emails of US-born terror accused David Headley.

The US agencies informed the Indian security agencies about the email address and the Army major, who was likely to be booked under Official Secrets Act by the NIA, was put under the scanner.

The probe so far has indicated that the official had violated OSA as nearly 2,500 defence presentations were found on his computer. These documents related to issues much beyond his sphere of work.

The computer is currently with the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) in Hyderabad. Earlier, the Major had said he was an inquisitive person but he was himself at a loss to know how some files had entered his computer. The forensic report of the seized computer clearly shows that there were over 2,500 presentations, some of which were secret and even top secret, the sources said.

In a related development, the forensic report said that some files and emails were deleted from the computer on a particular date after it was seized by authorities, pressing panic buttons among the agencies.
Source: Agencies
Army Major's computer was accessed from Pakistan
Related Story
Indian Military restricts social networking sites

India's long history of spies: R&AW seeks OSA as undercover for corrupt activities

Dear Friends,
Jai Hind.
Please read the news Click here- Medicare denial to feted soldier opens up RAW wound by Deepak Kumar Jha, New Delhi: Agencies fail to gather evidence against ex-Brigadier charged with spying, say friends.

It is a pathetic story of injustice to a retired officer.

Let the Government conduct the trial and punish the officer if he is found guilty. But playing dirty tricks to delay the trial so that the misdeeds of the Government agency remain under cover- is a shameful act.

It is time that all of us start thinking as to how to force the shameless government agency to start the trial of the officer.

Please do give this problem a serious thought and do whatever best you can to help Brig Ujwal Dasgupta, who has been behind bars without any trial. It is a disgrace to system of justice in India and disgrace to the officer community if we do not force the Government to start and finish the trial without further delay.
In service of Indian Military Veterans
Veteran Chander Kamboj

Dasgupta along with three other accused was arrested in 2006. The co-accused Shiv Shankar Paul (38), a systems analyst at the National Security Council Secretariat, his superior officer Commander Mukesh Saini (58) who had retired on March 31, 2006, and Brigadier Ujjal Dasgupta (64), head of the computer section of Research & Analysis Wing, were also accused of espionage and booked under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly passing on information to Rosanna Minchew (31), an American diplomat. Dasgupta, while deputed in the R&AW, was arrested on July 19, while Paul was arrested on June 11 in 2006. Saini was also picked up by the investigators on July 6. Dasgupta was involved in project - Anveshak, a software developed for R&AW by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) as well as the Army. Army has since clarified that the software developed was not classified. The trial is yet to begin in the case.
20 days after SC order, ex-Brigadier gets medical aid
Related article
India's long history of spies in the establishment
The irony couldn't have been more apparent. The international media has reported the bickerings in RAW—a dubious honour for an intelligence agency.

The government has finally ordered an investigation into the allegations of corruption in RAW made by Major General V.K. Singh (retd), an army officer who served with India's external intelligence agency. Singh's book, India's External Intelligence: Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), published last year, detailed the charges he was levelling. The book's publication led to its author being investigated by the CBI under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for "jeopardising national security". But even as the probe against Singh continues, the allegations he made are also being looked into (sources say they have been taken very seriously at the highest level). Thus, two investigations are now on simultaneously—one against the accuser (Singh) and the other against those accused by him!
EXCLUSIVE raw corruption probe: Double Checking- Finally, V.K. Singh's allegations prompt a probe of RAW by Saikat Datta
RAW Lapses
•Probe into the procurement of 27 antennas between 2000 and '02 from Germany's Rhodes & Schwarz at arbitrary rates
•Also investigate the purchase of communication equipment for the Special Protection Group, without proper checks or mandatory approvals
•Identity of the officers involved in these procurements is known
•The probe is being conducted by a former special secretary of RAW

Lesson learnt: Officers from the Armed Forces should not volunteer for service in RAW as corruption is veiled as undercover! The Home Minister P Chidambaram is sure to see through the corruption game played by RAW and resolve trial cases quickly as he is an eminent lawyer of repute.

National Security: Mole in MEA a reverse honey trap

New Delhi, April 27
Madhuri Gupta may have been lured into a ‘friendship’ with an ISI agent — a reverse honeytrap — to pass on information detrimental to Indian interests in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The ISI man has so far been identified as Rana and was meeting her frequently.

The close nature of friendship between Gupta, a 53 year-old spinster posted in the Indian mission at Islamabad and the ISI man had caught the attention of Indian agencies, who had been monitoring her movements since she was posted to Pakistan in 2008, top-level sources here revealed.

Gupta had expressed a keenness to serve in Pakistan indicating that she may be having cross-border links even before her posting. Pakistan is anyway considered a tough posting for anyone. The nature of information accessible to the ISI through her was classified, including some sensitive documents pertaining to Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agents posted at the Indian High Commission at Islamabad. Also, the diplomatic strategy and list of officials, who were expected to visit Pakistan and Afghanistan, besides other secret government papers may have changed hands, sources added.
ISI’s mole in MEA held: Tribune News Service It was ‘reverse honeytrap’ Ajay Banerjee & Sandeep Yadav

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were massacred by the Maoists

Naxal/ Maoist strike: soldiers rode into the death trap
Was Chhattisgarh attack intelligence failure, asks Congress



The wreckage of a paramilitary vehicle blown up by Maoists' during an attack in Tadmela, Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.

The bodies of 76 security personnel, 75 of them from the CRPF, were flown to their homes in different parts of the country. A glimpse at the last journey of Dantewada martyrs.

New Delhi, April 6 : Terming the killing of 75 security personnel in Chattisgarh by the Maoists as an act of terror, the Congress Tuesday said "there might have been an intelligence failure and the reason for this should be ascertained".

"This is very unfortunate that we have lost a number of precious lives of security personnel in a brutal attack. Those behind this terror attack should be firmly dealt with," Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told IANS after 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers were massacred by the Maoists in the forests of Chhattisgarh. The Congress also asked the government to take measures to prevent such attacks.
--IANS
Was Chhattisgarh attack intelligence failure, asks Congress
Popular support leading to Maoist attacks on security forces?

E.N. Rammohan to Conduct Inquiry into Ambush of CRPF in Dantewada
It has been decided to conduct an Inquiry into the circumstances leading to the ambush of CRPF platoons on last Tuesday at Dantewada in Chhatisgarh. Shri E.N. Rammohan, IPS (retired), has been appointed to conduct the Inquiry and submit a report within 15 days. The Inquiry report shall:
a) establish the circumstances preceding and the sequence of events leading to the incident of April 6, 2010.
(b) reconstruct, as far as possible, the actual events that took place on that day from 0500 hrs to 1200 hrs. and until the first rescue party reached the place of incident.
c) examine the CDR of the mobile telephones used by the deceased/injured personnel of the CRPF during the encounter and gather evidence from family members and others that would throw light on the actual events that took place during the ambush.
d) analyze and establish the decision/command structure/ hierarchy and the specific levels which took relevant decisions concerning the AD(Ops) and leading to the incident.
e) examine the quality of the training imparted to the relevant Companies of CRPF and the details of SoPs issued to the Company.
f) examine the response of the State Police and the CRPF both during the ambush and the post-ambush relief and rescue operations.
g) suggest measures to mitigate the lapses, if any, which are documented by the Enquiry Officer so that such incidents do not reoccur.
h) consider any other matter that the Inquiry Officer may deem relevant to the scope and terms of the Inquiry.

All Paramilitary Forces and State Govt., Police and Home Departments have been directed to offer access to all relevant records, wireless, logs, etc. as may be sought by the Inquiry Officer. OK/KP/DB
E.N. Rammohan to Conduct Inquiry into Ambush of CRPF in Dantewada

China excels in Cyber Theft of Classified documents

Turning the tables on a China-based computer espionage gang, Canadian and United States computer security researchers have monitored a spying operation for the past eight months, observing while the intruders pilfered classified and restricted documents from the highest levels of the Indian Defence Ministry.

In a report issued Monday night, the researchers, based at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, provide a detailed account of how a spy operation it called the Shadow Network systematically hacked into personal computers in government offices on several continents.

The Toronto spy hunters not only learned what kinds of material had been stolen, but were able to see some of the actual documents, including classified assessments about security in several Indian states, and confidential embassy documents about India's relationships in West Africa, Russia and the Middle East. The intruders breached the systems of independent analysts, taking reports on several Indian missile systems. They also obtained a year's worth of the Dalai Lama's personal e-mail messages.
Read complete cyber espionage sequence
Researchers trace Indian Defence Ministry data theft to China

Comment: We need to subject Chinese to our "Official Secret Act", which will screw them beyond redemption.

How Bureaucrats Hoodwink the Government and the Public

Dear Brigadier Kamboj,
I think we soldiers are paying for the sin of being naïve and straight forward. Using he RTI Act, I have discovered that most civilian government servants manage to increase their salaries by 10 to 20% by a simple expedient– monetary awards. I had seen this happening in RAW. The IB must be doing the same thing, as well as most para military forces. The only people who do not get awards for doing routine jobs are soldiers.
I had filed an RTI application on 15/6/09 with CBI, asking for details of monetary awards given to their personnel during the last 8 years. The results were startling. In fact, Outlook did a story on this, which is given in the link below. I am also attaching some examples, as a sample. There are similar cases in the hundred odd offices of the CBI all over the country.

The RTI application asked for information in respect of the monetary awards given to CBI personnel during the period 01/01/2001 to 31/12/2008. Shri S.K.Palsania, Asstt. Inspr. Genl. of Police transferred the application under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act to ‘All Heads of Branches/CPIOs of CBI (Delhi & outside Delhi).

During the last six months, I have received letters from various branches of the CBI all over the country. Some have given the information while others have stated that it is Nil. The documents run into several thousand pages. I have not had time to read all of it. However, the important point is that CBI personnel are being given monetary awards for routine work, such as doing good work during visits of senior officers, driving a vehicle, shifting furniture, cleaning offices, guard duties and so on. The awards range from a few hundred rupees to several thousand rupees. In many cases, more than one award has been given on the same date, to the same person, by the same officer, perhaps because of the monetary limits imposed. Even officers of the rank of SPs are given such awards.

The awards were being paid out of Major Head 2055, Police 01-CBI, 01.00.01 ‘Salaries’, up to 2006. From 2007 they are being paid out of Major Head 2055, Police 00.001-Crl Inv. & Vig., 01-CBI, 01.00.05-sub head ‘Rewards’. As a result, most CBI personnel are able to earn between 10 to 20 percent above their salaries. In real terms, each man gets the salary of one or two grades higher than the one in which he is placed. This is a mockery of the exercise of fixing salaries in accordance with the recommendations of the Pay Commissions.

It is relevant that Armed Forces personnel do not get any monetary awards, even during if they are killed or wounded in operations, unless they earn a gallantry award, which very few get (less than one in thousand).

Major Cases
During search carried out at various houses of Shri A.P. Singh, ex Chief Secretary of UP in 2005, Rs 38 lakhs was recovered. 41 persons from CBI took part in the raids. They were all given monetary awards ranging from 500 to 6000. Vide CBI office order dated 4/1/2008, 20 officers of the rank of Addl SP/Sr. PP and DySP/PP were sanctioned monetary awards ranging from 2000 to 3500. Some names occur three times in the list. Shri SR Majumdar, Addl SP, Kolkata and PV Ramakrishna Rao, PP, Bhubaneshwar got three awards totalling 8500. (Pay scale of Addl SP/Sr PP was 10,000-352-15,200 and of DySP/PP was 8,000-275-13,500). The Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency in Chennai was set up to investigate the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. The 13 persons got 158 awards in 2001. In other words, each person was given over 10 monetary awards, in one year.

I am not sure if the Finance Minister or the CAG is aware of this systematic loot. Perhaps other government departments also do it, so nobody finds it odd. If this is so, why should we not have this in the Armed Forces? If an SP or DIG can sanction monetary awards, why should the CO or the Brigade Commander not have similar powers?
Regards,
Maj Gen VK Singh
cbi: profligacy-Grease On The Lens: The CBI’s arbitrary ‘rewards’ to its own is wastage of public funds by Saikat Datta
Awards dished out to CBI personnel doing routine official work

PM misguided by babus: CAT asks RAW to take back officer

The toxicity of file notings & minute sheets in the Indian context has been discussed umpteen number of times.
Now comes the clincher. In a scathing order, the Principal Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal has come down heavily upon reports presented by lower staff to the PM resulting in an incorrect decision. The Hon’ble CAT was dealing with a case of a RAW officer who was removed from service after her ‘identity’ became public. The CAT also commented that the anonymity of RAW personnel was more myth than reality.
My friends, again, beware of the note maker. One may be lurking in your very own office.
Posted by Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh at 5:01 AM

CAT asks R&AW to take back officer
Satya Prakash, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, March 18, 2010
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has ordered the reinstatement of a senior officer of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), who was compulsorily retired from service for security reasons after her identity become public.

“We are of the confirmed opinion that the applicant has been treated with a large doze of arbitrariness and her statutory we well as constitutional rights stand violated,” the tribunal said, ordering the reinstatement of R&AW director Nisha Priya Bhatia with all consequential benefits.

Bhatia was given a posting in an inferior cadre in 2008. When she challenged the posting, the government told the tribunal on November 26, 2009, that she would be taken back to the executive cadre after six months. But after three weeks, she was removed from service on December 18, 2009.

Bhatia alleged that prostitution rackets were being run from R&AW office premises and funds were being misused. R&AW had denied the charges.

The government counsel argued: ”It was only after mature reasoning that the competent authority, the Prime Minister, decided to retire her from service.” The actual order, however, was signed by an undersecretary in the cabinet secretariat.

A bench headed by CAT vice-chairman M. Ramachandran said: “The Prime Minister obviously might have been acting on the basis of reports presented before him. But it could have been only one-sided, and reports have been prepared by persons who are not friendly with the applicant (Bhatia). The opportunity for hearing any other version has been virtually denied.”

It said: “So long as we are expected to uphold constitutional rights of an individual, we cannot be silent witness to at least such unpalatable happening brought to our notice.”

The bench wondered why Bhatia was not given the protection available to civil servants under Article 311 of the Constitution.

On the government’s contention that an R&AW official becomes “unemployable” once his/ her identity is made public, the tribunal said: “Anonymity of personnel of R&AW is more a myth than reality.”
CAT asks R&AW to take back officer
Related story:
IB and RAW are supposed to collate and analyse intelligence reports, but the chiefs play a game with one end: access to the prime minister.
Why our spies fail us

India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of RAW: Outlook Scoop- 2007

Outlook scooped V.K. Singh's expose on RAW. Now, he's booked under the Official Secrets Act. Is this act meant for misuse? Saikat Datta: Draconian Law
What is wrong with the OSA?

Has several vague, "all-inclusive" provisions; anyone can be prosecuted for sharing even harmless information

What is "secret" has not been defined, leaving scope for misuse

Any document can be deemed secret on the opinion of an "expert"

Heavily loaded against the accused. Only Section 5 has a provision for bail which is rarely given.

Is used as a vendetta tool to book whistleblowers and unpliable officials.

Maj Gen V.K. Singh is the latest in the line of people to be targeted under the OSA. The law, which is heavily loaded against the accused, is usually invoked whenever the state wishes to settle scores or rein in whistleblowers. Here are some examples:

Capt B.K. Subbarao was hailed as one of the finest nuclear scientists in the country. He was seconded from the Indian navy to help with the nuclear submarine programme but ended up being branded as a spy
Reason: he detected serious flaws in the designs being drawn up for the prototype at the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Trombay. This upset the top brass in the nuclear establishment. Subbarao was hounded out of BARC and arrested under OSA at Mumbai airport in 1990 before he boarded a flight to the US. His repeated appeals to the judiciary fell on deaf ears till the prosecuting agency was directed to come up with the "evidence" it had to prove his guilt. It turned out to be Subbarao's doctoral thesis on nuclear science, submitted to IIT Powai! As the case began to crumble, Subbarao had to face 65 judges in the search for justice. Finally, two years after his arrest, Subbarao was acquitted.

Iftikar Gilani, a Delhi-based Kashmiri journalist, was picked up by the IB for allegedly accessing secrets "prejudicial to the safety and security of the nation". After several months in jail, it finally came to light that the case against Gilani was based on a book published by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, 13 years ago.
Reason: The opinion of the director general of military intelligence (DGMI) stating that the material recovered from Gilani was not secret was kept away from the courts. Finally, after then defence minister George Fernandes directed the DGMI to personally appear in court with his revised opinion, it was taken into account. The case was dismissed.

Ajay Kumar, a low-level functionary in the Indian Parliament, was not so lucky with the OSA. The evidence against him: possession of parliamentary reports that had already been tabled. The prosecution chose to ignore the fact these were on sale in Parliament. His lawyer V.K. Ohri told Outlook: "They finally planted a hand-written map of a cantonment that even the army officers have said on record does not have any position authenticated. In fact, they don't even know whether the places marked in the crude map exist or not. Finally, in the age of Google Earth what is the relevance of a hand-drawn map?" asks Ohri.

Babulnath Maurya, a designer who served in naval headquarters, was also booked under OSA. Incredible as it may sound, the evidence submitted by the prosecution against Maurya were files which were on his desk. "Can you believe the absurdity of the case," asks Ohri, also Maurya's lawyer. "The papers which were supposed to be on his official desk were collected from his office drawer as proof that he was spying."
The OSA is a handy tool for the government because it is very vague on what is secret. A personal diary can be deemed "secret" if it is stamped by an official. Similarly, information passed on in the course of official work can become secret. And once anyone is arrested under OSA, there is little chance of bail.

With such blatant misuse, it was a welcome and overdue development when the Administrative Reforms Committee (ARC), in its first report a few months ago, targeted the OSA, saying it was "enacted in the colonial era". The ARC's chairman Veerappa Moily is unequivocal in his demand that the Act be repealed. "After the enactment of the RTI Act, the OSA, has no place to survive and even its relics may no longer remain," he says.

Echoing Moily is former member of the National Advisory Council and Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy. "The OSA should have been scrapped in 1947 when we gained independence," she says.

In fact, the scrapping of the OSA is a demand that has found support from across the political spectrum with former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, L.K Advani and Jaswant Singh stating that the OSA, at the very least, needs to be reviewed. Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in an article published in 2001, had pointed out that unlike the British OSA, the Indian Act continues to remain "unrevised despite decades of effort". Calling the OSA "anachronistic", Singhvi argued that to empower society, the government must "reduce the culture of secrecy and limit the power of service providers (bureaucrats) with the reforms of the OSA".

Not only does the OSA threaten individual freedom and liberties, it has also been used as a tool to deny information as Moushumi Basu, an associate professor at the centre for international politics, jnu, found out. During her doctoral research on the World Bank, she was shocked to learn that the loan agreements executed by India with the World Bank to bail itself out of its financial crisis in 1991 are state secrets. Recalls Basu: "When I asked Manmohan Singh, who was then only a Rajya Sabha member, he insisted that all these papers had been tabled in Parliament. But that is not the case and they continue to be a state secret. So not only is defence under OSA but even development programmes are under its ambit," says Basu.

Veteran journalist B.G. Verghese had a similar experience when he discovered that maps of Indian rivers, freely available on the internet and in shops, was actually covered under the OSA. Points out Verghese: "Information is power and that is why the bureaucrats want to deny citizens information. But in India instead of taking corrective measures we usually shoot the messenger." B. Raman, former additional secretary with RAW, says then prime minister V.P. Singh had set up two committees during his government. One was to examine whether the intelligence agencies could be brought under parliamentary oversight and the second to review the OSA. "There was unanimous opinion within the intelligence community that the British model of parliamentary oversight should be accepted."

But in the case of Major General V.K. Singh, the government seems to have let vendetta blind it from the fact that it has no shred of evidence against him. Little wonder then that his book has so far not been banned.
official secrets act: The Iron Fig Leaf

A Soldier’s Journey through Life With Two Wives

He was commissioned, post Independence, from IMA Dehradun in Jun 1955. The officers of that vintage were trying to come to terms with the lifestyle of the bygone era, a legacy left by the British Army, albeit with a drastically reduced pay-packet in hand. Thanks to the first pay commission, life was managed by the magic of post-dated cheques, payments by instalments, supplemented by frequent withdrawals from the provident fund. A technical graduate, competing with ex NDA and Direct entry compatriots, managed well to overcome the numerous obstacles faced during training and later in service. He has had a chequered career including a long tenure with DRDO while in service and later in R&AW followed by a stint with ECIL, a PSU, as their Defence advisor. Council member of IETE, these days he spends his time in painting, writing and at times interacting with Management and IT students on the topic of Soft- Skills his area of interest.

The reader joins the author in his ‘Journey through Life’ some times in 1935-36, following him through the simple ways of life in Western UP villages as perceived by a child of five and six, then to Delhi of yore and the small towns of the province. He feels the cultural shock of the move to Lucknow in the 50’s and the freewheeling life in the university is introduced to the new concept of ‘Love at Far Site. Next on to Indian Military Academy at Dehradun in the foothills of Shiwaliks with its dreaded Drill Square and the Obstacle Course, passing-out with the proud but shaky 2nd Lieutenant married to his new, but virtual wife; the ‘Army, to face the pains of growing up in the post Independence Army, a blend of the British traditions and the Indian value system. Soon the reader is introduced with the new ‘Babbler’, post facing the young officer’s ‘Love at First Sight’, feels the pangs of separation in married life and the author’s mental agony due to the conflicting needs and demands of the two wives, one loving and demanding; the other just demanding. Moves with him in the battle ground on entering the ‘Valley of Death’ to soon face the uncertainties to life and limb, during the 1962 Sino-Indian Conflict, As the author climbs his career ladder, the reader has a chance to look at the intricacies of Command and Staff at Army HQ and the student – instructor relationship in a service environment, so different from traditional institutions. The reader is saddened watching the author’s trauma on being a helpless witness to his wife’s tenacious fight with cancer, with his only partly successful efforts, to minimise her pains through the long struggle, culminating in her untimely demise, finally to sympathise with his efforts to cope with remorse, pain and guilt of living without her.
Brig Lakshman Singh VSM (Retd)
MSc, PTSC, LDMC, FIET, FNTF, MSEMC (India)
Book Release: BLS Publishers, P 539, Sector- 21, Noida 201301

Invitation To Friends on Report my Signal
For the Book Release Function At Vatika Signals Enclave Rao Tula Marg, New Delhi on 2nd March 2009 at 6 PM of ‘A Soldier’s Journey through Life With Two Wives’ By Brig Lakshman Singh VSM (Retd)
Members attending are requested to confirm by e- mail lakshman31auto@gmail.com so the a formal invitation can be sent and arrangements made- Note- delete auto when sending email.

To read all posts of Brig Lakshman Singh in the Blog: Click here and continue with "Older posts" at the bottom of page

SCPC: The clear and present danger

The "blame-game" which has inevitably reared its ugly head in the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks instantly reminded me of the fervent appeals of three successive Chiefs of R&AW to Naval HQ, in recent years, to loan them naval officers for analysis of maritime intelligence. They were seriously concerned that they did not have the necessary in-house expertise available to draw the right conclusions and inferences from the mass of information the agency collected from open, human and technical sources. And very correctly they approached the Navy.

Lack of maritime intelligence has also been the Navy's bane for years, so we understood the handicap R&AW worked under, fully shared their concern, and felt that it was the navy's duty to help. I recall (as the Chief of Personnel) having personally selected some officers for deputation to R&AW, but to my consternation, I learnt within a few months that most wanted to return to the navy. Before I go any further, let me just say that this piece is not about intelligence failure. It is about a failure on a larger scale which represents an equal degree of danger to the nation.

The naval officers deputed to R&AW did not wish to continue with their deputation (and I learnt that this was not a new phenomenon) because when they were assigned their desks in the Cabinet Secretariat they found to their dismay that they had been placed under officers who were many years their junior in terms of service. Having taken this stoically, they then found that they were deprived of things like telephones, stenographers and transport because the "status" assigned to them did not entitle them to these utilities.

The R&AW authorities were most sympathetic but pleaded that the they were not in a position to alter the equivalences, apparently "laid down" by a Kafkaesque Department of Personnel. Neither pay-scales nor years of service nor any logic seem to guide this fixation of relativities of Armed Forces officers with civilian counterparts. It was not that we had not experienced such discrimination earlier - the Service HQ have always been chary of sending their officers on deputation - but one felt that intelligence was an issue of national importance and certainly worth undergoing some inconvenience. But we found that naval officers would accept such assignments only with the utmost reluctance.

I have used this example, only because it is symptomatic of a larger malaise: the lack of coordination between organs of the Government of India (GoI) which has contributed to the recent Mumbai fiasco. This should not come as a surprise because the GoI seems so laissez faire in its approach that it will not intervene to eliminate inter-agency inequity even when it clearly results in crippling disfunctionality, as mentioned above. On the contrary, by its acts of omission as well as commission the GoI has been contributing to steady erosion of the locus standi of the Armed Forces in the national security matrix.

In a seemingly illogical and self-destructive continuum, the GoI has progressively and with great deliberation proceeded to marginalize, downgrade and degrade its own Armed Forces, thus undermining the security of the Indian State as surely as the nation's worst enemy. This is a process that has been underway since independence, and at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, I would venture to state that the proverbial last straw may have been added by the 6th Central Pay Commission (CPC).

Today, there is a distinct impression that the CPC has erred grievously on many issues relating to the Armed Forces because they were not represented in the commission, and its recommendations have spread confusion and consternation. One of the most serious consequences (whether intended or not) is the sudden and arbitrary alteration of relativities between the Armed Forces and their civilian counterparts, to the detriment of the former. The resulting change in relationships between the Armed Forces and para-militaries has grave operational implications which do not seem to have been understood at all at the political level.

The ex-Servicemen (ESM) are completely stunned to see the number of anomalies thrown up by the CPC. This confusion has been further compounded by different interpretations being put out in successive letters by the Controller of Defence Accounts. To take just one example: no one understands by what logic a Lieutenant-General, Major-General and Brigadier are going to be paid exactly the same pension, and a Colonel (with half the service) will receive just one hundred rupees less.

The GoI has yet again rejected the "one rank on pension" demand, but not even a feeble attempt has been made to bridge the yawning gap between today's and yesterday's pensioners of the same rank. There is also a distinct impression that the CPC recommendations have been fiddled with, and even changed by the bureaucracy, without due authorization at the political level. Such is the level of discontent and strength of feelings that one hears of planned hunger strikes by ESM; something that would have earlier been unthinkable in the Armed Forces ethos.

The most logical way to avoid this confusion and the resultant sense of grievance in the armed forces and the ESM would have been to place a Service representative, if not in the CPC, then in the Review Committee. Either the committee would have convinced this representative of the appropriateness of the issues or the other way round; thus avoiding controversy, speculation and unhappiness. A few retired Service Chiefs (including this writer) had written to the PM to accord this concession but the appeal remained unanswered.

What people have either not understood, or are imprudently ignoring, is the fact that the CPC recommendations (and subsequent developments) are causing deep resentment, because they strike, not at the monetary status of the Services and the ESM, but at their standing relative to the other services. The Armed Forces just cannot understand (nor has anyone explained to them) why it was necessary to cut them down, yet again, a few notches relative to the police or the civil services at this particular junction. This severe blow to their "izzat" appears illogical and incomprehensible.

If there is indeed a sound rationale for the down-gradation of the Armed Forces, the Government must share it with them, and with the nation. Most importantly, the impression that this is the result of machinations of the bureaucracy, must be dispelled, if untrue; and it must be made amply clear that this decision emanates from the GoI.

Spreading unhappiness and confusion amongst the nation's Armed Forces or demoralizing them, and the 2-3 million strong ESM community does not serve anyone's interest. Should someone in authority not sit up and take notice?

Adm Arun Prakash (Retd)

Spooks Silence Reputed Military Historian

Dear Friends,

It is now over about six months since I sent you my last update. Of course, some of you must be keeping abreast of the latest developments through the newspapers. The controversy concerns my book India’s External Intelligence– Secrets of the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) that came out in June 2007. Based on a complaint from RAW, the CBI registered a FIR under the Official Secrets Act against me. They searched my house and questioned me subsequently. My plea for anticipatory bail was heard in the Sessions Court in Tis Hazari on 26 Sep. After over a dozen hearings, the case plea is still undecided. However, on 11 Apr the court has agreed to the CBI’s plea for the hearings to be held ‘in camera’. This will ensure that the media is kept out.

Another sinister development is that the CBI has filed a complaint in the court of the Metropolitan Magistrate on 9 Apr, giving out a gist of the charges against me. They followed this up with a charge sheet that was filed at 1600 hrs on 11 Apr. The next three days being holidays, I have still not got a copy of the charge sheet or the order of the sessions Court regarding in camera hearing. Hopefully, I should be able to get it on 15 Apr, when the courts open.

Some of may have read Indian Express of 10 Apr, which gives certain information given in the book that CBI considers ‘Secret’. Click link given below. Rajeev Dhawan, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court has written a forceful article in the Mail Today on 13 Apr (click active link below). He has made a very apt comment on the role of the bureaucracy.

Quote: They are not really concerned with contents of the book. They want to silence and pulverize General Singh and any body like him into submission. Government servants are like a club. The club interacts with each other. They develop friendships and animosities which are carried over into their retirement; and, who knows, perhaps into their next life. Unquote

We have seen how the bureaucrats have treated the Armed Forces in the report of the Pay Commission. What is happening to me and others like Ujjal Dasgupta is a manifestation of the same hostility and ill will that the bureaucrat harbours towards the soldier. (I was tempted to use the word Babu but desisted, not wishing to sully the memory of some of our veteran freedom fighters such Kunwar Singh and Dr. Rajendra Prasad for whom the prefix was used in British Times). There have been several instances of severe damage to national security in recent years such as the loss of computers with sensitive data in SAG, a DRDO unit; the escape of Rabinder Singh (media reports suggest that more than 60 others were part of the network); and the purchase of radio equipment of doubtful security by the SPG, brought out in my book. There are several officers named in my book who appear to be corrupt. No action has been initiated against any one in any of the cases mentioned above. The reason is not hard to fathom– soldiers are not part of the ‘club’.

I understand that we are planning a vigil at India gate on 27 April to bring out the injustice being done to soldiers. I think pay is just one of the things we should highlight before the public. What about the gradual and steady denigration of the status of the soldier since 1947; the loss of many service privileges due to lack of knowledge by the bureaucracy (priority in litigation, protection from prosecution when operating in aid to civil power, representation in court by persons other than an attorney, exemption of court fees on powers of attorney, exemption from tolls etc); the refusal to honour the war dead (there is no land for a war memorial, but there is for a police memorial) etc. I think we need to bring out all these issues before the public, highlighting the role of the soldier in maintaining the integrity of the nation not only against external threat but internal disorder. Would democracy have survived In India if the Indian soldier had emulated his counter parts in our neighbouring countries? The public must be informed of the stranglehold of the bureaucracy and how it has demoralised the soldier to such an extent that he no longer has any faith in the Government. Does it not ring an ominous bell for the future?

Regards,
Maj Gen VK Singh (Retd)

Media Coverage:
What the CBI calls Official Secrets
CBI to charge ex- RAW Officer
Stop the prosecution of Maj Gen V K Singh: Official Secrets Act should be scrapped as well
CBI Charge sheets Former RAW Officer V K Singh
Indian Intelligence : Why top officials are upset with a new book
The Blinding Curtain

Comments: The Official Secrets Act enacted ages ago is presently used to whip the recently enacted Right to Information Act out of shape. Sample India's Contradictions in the new found Information Age. Spooks and spies need a training institute to impart professionalism into the art, instead of getting confused with wine, women and money laundering.

Lessons Learnt: The Defence Forces should deter officers moving to Intelligence Spooky Agencies which is likely to seal their fate, curb their freedom under the garb of vital National Interests and made scapegoats of others folly. Even one found carrying a camera in the Airport, can be booked under the Official Secrets Act of India.