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The Hindustantimes
(Saturday, September 07, 2002)
Gun running: CBI says army suspect Vishal Thapar and Chandan Nandy Port Blair/New Delhi, September 6: A JOINT-SERVICES operation in the Andamans to foil an arms drop, touted as the biggest since Purulia, may have been an Indian counter-intelligence game that went horribly out of control. On February 9, 1998 a tri-services operation was launched in the Landfall Islands to intercept an arms consignment meant for terrorists in India's north-east. The armed forces said they picked up 73 Myanmarese gunrunners from the island. The oddly-named Operation Leech has turned out to be a can of worms. More than four years later, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case, can't file a chargesheet because it says the operation's bona fides are suspect. While 34 of those Myanmarese arrested are now on bail walking free on the streets of Port Blair two have escaped in July this year. Thirtyseven of them turned out to be innocent fishermen, who were released after 15 months in prison. The observations on the case file are a damning indictment of the Ministry of Defence(MoD). "The authenticity and bona fides of the entire encounter are in doubt," the CBI says. The agency finds the militants' story-that they were drafted by the Indian Army "more plausible", and accuses the MoD of concealing facts. The rebels who belong to the Arakan Army, the armed wing of the National United Party of Arakan, which wants to secede from Myanmar allege they were double-crossed by India's Military Intelligence. The rebels claim they had a deal with Lt.-Colonel V.J.S. Grewal of Military Intelligence, who promised them a logistics-cum-training base in the Landfall Islands to help them fight the Myanmar junta. "We hosted him in Bangkok, and paid him $56,800 for facilities such as a jetty, barracks and training facilities," says Dynya Lin, one of the rebels. "Our brief was to take the eapons from Thailand to Landfall. From there, an Indian agency was to take the consignment to our base at Paraba in Mizoram," he claims. Myanmar's Arakan province is contiguous to Mizoram. The CBI complains that the MoD is not cooperating in the investigations despite a written request to Defence Minister George Fernandes in May 1999. "They have not parted with the intelligence reports on the basis of which they claim the operation was conducted. Operational details have not been made available. The note written by the then Assistant Chief of Naval Staff Operations Rear Admiral Madanjit Singh too has not been given to the CBI," the case file states. The MoD denies this but the CBI says it was stonewalled at every step in the probe. Operation Leech What's the army's stand? A tri-service ops foiled Myanmar rebels planning an arms drop in Andamans What do the rebels say? Indian Army's Lt.-Col V.J.S. Grewal promised them a base in the Landfall Islands tohelp fight Myanmar junta. They say Grewal is a double-agent working for Myanmar What is the CBI's stand? Finds the rebels' version "more plausible". MoD not cooperating in probe Where is Grewal? Retired and untraceable. During probe army didn't allow CBI near him. |