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ISI spreads its tentacles across N India

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

There is increasing presence of Bangladeshi nationals and "aliens" in pockets of West Bengal like Raiganj, Jangipur, Balurghat, Murshidabad, Ranipur and Bhatpara. But the state authorities have either denied that such infiltration has taken place or have totally ignored it, senior central government officials here, who requested anonymity, pointed out.

They said that Military Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau had already warned the state government "but to no avail." As a result the Union ministry of home affairs is very concerned about the security implications.

The officials revealed that the Calcutta-Dacca bus service also presented a problem because it enabled ISI operatives from Bangladesh to slip into West Bengal more easily.

Significantly, according to sources close to the Assam Governor Lt General (retd ) S K Sinha at the Assam Bhavan here, he had submitted a comprehensive report to the Union Home Minister L K Advani a few months ago underscoring the gravity of the problem pertaining to the illegal infiltration by Bangladeshi nationals and the ISI's taking advantage of it.

In Bihar, the situation is equally grim. Operating from bordering Nepal, the ISI agents keep smuggling explosives like RDX and weapons into Bihar from where it finds its way to other parts of India as well.

It is an established fact that Pakistan's Habib Bank, which has branches along the border with Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, is financing ISI operations. Complaints with the Nepalese authorities in this regard have fallen on deaf ears.

According to the officials, there is the same danger in the districts of Kishanganj and Purnea which are close to the Bangladesh border. It was pointed out that during the last ten years of Laloo Prasad Yadav's rule the ISI presence in the state has increased significantly but Laloo, like his West Bengal counterpart Jyoti Basu, has ignored it. The central government would like to do something about the problem but it is severely handicapped as its powers in the states are limited, they stressed.

The confirmation that Iranian, Afghan and Pushto mercenaries are entrenched in Chopra and Islampur in Siliguri has highlighted what Advani said recently: that modules of ISI are active all over India.

The MHA has categorically underscored that modules unearthed in 1998 in Delhi have proved how the ISI is encouraging terrorist activities in the national capital.

*A Malerkotla-based Pakistani was arrested with a huge cache of arms and ammunition. On sustained grilling, he revealed that the ISI had directed him to kill VVIPs including central ministers. He belonged to the Khalistan Commando Force. This was in July last year.

*In the same month, two activists of the Lashkar-e-Toiba were arrested along with automatic weapons. On interrogation, they admitted that they had been directed to spread death and destruction in Delhi.

*In July again, three Hizb-ul-Mujahedeen activists were apprehended while approaching their ISI contacts for obtaining high explosives including RDX. A month later, two Pakistanis were seen loitering in suspicious circumstances near the All India Radio building. When challenged, they whipped out automatic pistols but were overpowered by the policemen.

*Two Uttar Pradesh-based militants of Pakistani origin were arrested in the Delhi bomb blast case.

*In September last year, a gang of Harkat-ul-Ansar operatives functioning from Old Delhi was broken up with the arrest of its ringleader Mohammed Ghaus.

Modules were unearthed the same year in Punjab and Haryana.

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