After two weeks, the Purulia arms drop still defies sleuths
In Delhi, Union Minister of State for Home Sibte Razi insists the ISI is behind the move. He does not quite provide a logical explanation, except that it was part of an attempt was to "destabilise" India. His boss S.B. Chavan too blames Pakistan, while his boss, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, is candid enough to admit that the truth is something "he would have to find out.''
The only tangible fallout of two weeks of official brain-racking was an official report submitted to the Union Home Ministry on December 30 by a committee comprising top security and aviation officials. The report, say well placed sources, contains the revelation that "better coordination'' between the civilian and defence air traffic controllers and more timely intelligence is necessary to avert accidents like these in future.
The report says that when the controversial AN-26 deviated to Madras, it took an alert Indian Air Force (IAF) surveillance unit man in Madras to alert the local Air Traffic Controlling Officer there. "For three hours no one noticed the violation,'' it says. As has become the norm with such committees, no responsibility has been fixed.
The committee comprised officials from the Home ministry, IAF, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Airport Authority of India, RAW, IB and allied defence departments. As for more real-time intelligence, which the report has proposed, there are signs that intelligence agencies had some clue about the arms drop, but not enough details to tip off security agencies.
One tip-off reportedly came from a key defence intelligence agency. That is said to have led to the tracing of the AN-26 when an IAF surveillance unit was tipped off in Madras, much after the incident. The vagueness in Delhi seems to have transmitted itself to Purulia where operations have gone through two distinct phases. First was the fancy-free phase, when a host of forces were identified as likely targeted recipients. They included the Jharkhandis, Lalkhandis, Maoists besides the Ananda Margis and even the Kachin Independent Army of Myanmar.
At present, there are two facts the investigations are examining here. Maps seized from the Latvian air crew have shown locations like Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Durgapur and Tatanagar—all places of industrial importance. This, officials say, has strengthened the argument that a massive sabotage was on the cards.
The second is the discovery of pictures, reportedly of the Marg headquarters in Purulia, from the black box of the seized Antonov aircraft. The police says the Britisher Peter Bleach has admitted to having contacts with the Margis.
Not surprisingly, the West Bengal Government is not yet crowing about it despite its hostility towards the Ananda Marg. Only days ago they had released 11 of the arrested Margis because of lack of evidence. The Marg, in retaliation, has threatened to sue the state government for Rs 50 million and, what's more, has already taken out victory rallies.
The crew might have had more than airy reasons to undertake the airdrop. Investigators say Bleach was promised $35,000 for the operation, while the five Latvians got between $1,500 to $2,000 a month. Not that any of this helps uncover any kind of trail back to the perpetrators—these remain trivia investigators can bandy about.
The Pakistanis too have been quiet. The reason is simple: it would be futile to attempt any dissembling, since the permission granted to the airplane clearly mentioned Karachi as its point of origin. Islamabad too has ordered an inquiry.
Will aircraft from Pakistan and the CIS countries henceforth be subjected to close monitoring? Unlikely, say officials, because it would be difficult to bring down each aircraft to check what it carries. Moreover, if that is done, "it would be difficult for Indian aircraft to fly to other countries,'' points out an official. And that would be a very bad news indeed.