Need for real intelligence to fight terror

The former President Abdul Kalam spoke in favour of a single investigating agency. He was speaking in Allahabad on September 26th 2008 and asserted that this single agency can fight terrorism successfully. Of course, he was trying to say that if you do your job professionally and fairly honestly the investigation would yield result.

In the present set up we have far too many investigating agencies that often work at cross-purposes. Moreover the authorities have not recruited staff from all sections of the society. Discriminating on the basis of religion that some cannot be trusted because of their religion is not just abuse of their religion but also willful negligence of caliber of individual members of the society and their individual integrity. Humayun Kabir’s son was not selected for RAW because he was a Muslim although his father was secretary to the first education minister of India, Maulana Azad. On the other hand the wide spread bias against the Muslims is so detrimental that there is virtual block out of Muslims in recruitment. In fact in the case of RAW it is said that the rule is Muslims and Sikhs need not apply. It is much like the colonial time when the Muslims and Sikhs were considered martial groups and hence recruited in the army of the raj.

As compared to this, look at the much-vaunted officers of the day, the most decorated and state patronized. There was Daya Naik who was part of the Central Intelligence Unit (CIU) between 1996 and 2000. Around this time he killed many criminals in encounters. But during this time he also collected huge amount of money and real estate property. In just one case he got five cror from former journalist Ketan Tirodkar on behalf of fugitive don Chhota Shakeel and Fahim Machmach. The assets of Naik are simply mind-boggling. He owns a hotel in Dubai apart from other real estate there and has huge amounts in banks within and outside the country. All this in just over half a dozen years! And as a sub inspector.

Even more boastful case is that of Rajbir Singh of the special cell of Delhi police. He had given fifty lakh rupees to a real estate agent Bharadwaj to invest. He also gave the agent a gun. Bharadwaj shot Jagbir dead with that gun fearing that the assistant commissioner was coming to demand explanation of the fifty lakh as an excuse to liquidate the agent. What is common in the cases is that these so called cops-come-sleuths engage in extortion that gives them enormous amounts of money in quick time. So how could they be honest to their job! They also fallout with colleagues and those who pay extortion in crors can also give supari to an insider.

Mohan Chand Sharma of the special cell of Delhi police was the protégé of Rajbir Singh. His death in the Jamia nager encounter on Firday September 19, 2008 is currently analyzed in the media and on the net. There are some disturbing implications for the hype attached to the so-called war on terror. According to one analysis Sharma’s autopsy reveals that there was no bullet found in his body nor was any found in the scanning. He died of profuse bleeding. But the place where he was allegedly shot on the fourth floor of Batla house and the flights of stairs do not show marks of bleeding. He climbed down the four flights of stairs. Two men helped him walk to the waiting vehicle kept some distance away. Even the clean path he covered as he hobbled shows no marks of blood. Sometimes after this he must have been shot from close range and bled excessively and died. There was no terrorist near him except his own colleagues in the police and investigating agencies and the media persons. This seen in the background of his mentor’s killing shows a pattern that the cops involved in the December 13 2001Parliament attack are systematically eliminated to leave no trace of what had happened then. Who could be interested in wiping out these, what Arundhati Roy calls, the footmarks of the dragon. Could it be the mother intelligence agency under this Home Minister or his predecessor? Or how else anyone could dare to do such things that require superior command structure and security of immunity.

There is another line of fact finding into the encounter. Prashant Bhushan, a well-known lawyer of Supreme Court, says that the police did not go to Batla house with any thought that they would confront terrorists. There was no planning for such an eventuality. The sister of Sharma also says that the Delhi police wanted to have it on Saturday. Moreover the police verification of the tenants is authentic. It is unlikely that people who give true information of their background and personal details to police at such a critical time would be involved in conspiracy and plant bombs.

But the most crucial is the line that would focus on the “friendly fire” as cause of Sharma’s death. Did a colleague bump him off? After all like his mentor Rajbir he was also involved in extortion. Remember Sharma entered the flat with six of his colleagues. Some people from a room rushed out and shot at him. He fell down and the bullet aimed for him hit a police constable, Rana. If no other policeman was hit then it is likely that Sharma was trapped to meet his fate on that fourth floor. He was transferred out of the special cell only the previous day as a punishment. What was the antecedent of the punishment posting?

These days the police and the investigating agencies have full information up their sleeves and roll out details just for asking. For example the Joint Commissioner of Delhi police says the Sharma deliberately did not wear the life jacket. “Had Sharma been wearing one he would’ve been spotted by the terrorists much before the attack even began”? This automatically begs the question why did his colleagues wear it, then. It is on record that he was the only one without the jacket, the six colleagues who went up with him had donned it. There is also his sister Gangotri who says that it was habitual with him not to wear life jacket.

Too many security and investigating agencies can cause problems. Afzal Guru was hired by State (special?) Task Force(STF) in Srinager as police informer. To get the job of informer Afzal had paid two lakh rupees to STF. Why did he have to pay when the agencies fill vouchers mentioning big amounts of money they pay to informers? He was asked by them to take one Mohammad to the Indian Parliament on December 13. Mohammad was one of the five killed in the shoot out at the Parliament. A noted member of Congress counted six men getting down to attack the Parliament. Who was the sixth? Who managed to get that sixth out of the hot spot? What for? These questions defy answers unless real and professional investigative works are allowed and also truthful forensic analysis is permitted.

It is a moot question as to whether the infiltration of the saffron privar or the ISI into the IB and RAW is sabotaging the agencies from within.