Chinks in Intelligence armour -- Informers double-cross for big money

Chinks in Intelligence armour -- Informers double-cross for big money
PRADEEP DUTTA

JAMMU, NOV 19: Sartaj Singh, an informer for Intelligence agencies in Jammu, was recently arrested by the Special Operation Group (SOG) of Police, from his residence in Kathua. Several kgs of heroin, arms and ammunition were seized.

Singh's arrest is not an isolated case. During the past one year, the Jammu police have registered more than 50 cases while the Punjab police have arrested more than 40 informers for double-crossing the security agencies.

The lid was blown off the racket when police arrested Bachan Singh, an trans-border smuggler, a few years ago. He had reportedly been fooling the security agencies for long.

``Sartaj Singh was found to have links with militants in Punjab and Kashmir. The arms were meant for militants to sabotage peace in the Jammu region,'' said Inspector General of Police R.V. Raju.

More often than not, the lure of big money has made Intelligence informers change loyalties or simply double-cross. ``The informers work for anyone who pays them more,'' said Ajaib Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Gurdaspur (Punjab). ``And the ISI is taking advantage.''

S.P. Vaid, Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jammu-Kathua range, said that there is no option but to hire these men to gather information. ``Only those who have links with militants can provide information. But often, they take advantage by leading us to contraband stocked by militants and simultaneously working for them,'' he said.

Last week, police arrested Mohinder Singh. Vaid said that on every occasion it was he who tipped off Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) chief Ranjit Singh Neeta about police raids. Neeta escaped every time. Police have been able to recover huge quantities of arms and explosives in Samba and Kathua regions. One of the consignments was meant for targeting VIPs in Delhi. Sartaj and Mohinder's arrests have evidently helped the police foil the militants' plan.

The agents are mostly trans-border smugglers and are believed to be responsible for a dozen blasts on the 200-km-long single-track rail link between Jammu and Jalandhar. The ISI had used them to target the 21-km stretch between Vijaypur and Kagwal within Jammu and Kashmir. The track runs close to the International Border and the population here is sparse.

Through their Intelligence links, the agents have been harbouring militants and abetting militancy in the region. A senior official said that the police had not touched these men earlier as the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing had claimed these men to be their sources. ``Now, we try to avoid any Intelligence agency from interrogating them unless we get the details,'' he said.