By Uzma Zafar
(With additional input by Anjali Sharma and Ajay Mehta in New Delhi)
ISLAMABAD- He might be a very seasoned intelligence operator, he might be running the world’s most complicated intelligence network, he might be having a huge security background, yet Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Kumar Doval is likely get a shocker when he will meet his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz in a couple of days to hold NSA-level Talks, indicate the investigations of The Daily Mail.
These investigations indicate that keeping in view a series fake terror dramas by Indians that started with the ‘Terror Boat’ episode at the start of this year and continued till the claims of Indians of arresting Pakistani terrorist who later turned out to be a mentally retarded youngster from the vicinity of Indian Occupied Kashmir that have been included in Talks’ agenda by Indians, a team of security specialists have spent days and nights to equip Sartaj Aziz with a huge arsenal of evidences and proofs to confront Indian claims and instead to crystal clearly prove involvement of New Delhi’s intelligence mechanism in terror activities across Pakistan.
The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that all the proofs that the Pakistani security agencies have gathered during the past few years regarding Indian signature in terror across Pakistan, have been handed over to Sartaj with comprehensive briefings and backgrounders about the same. There are also evidences about RAW-TTP nexus in Pakistan as well as in Afghanistan for execution of plans inside Pakistan. “ Indians are anticipating that Sartaj Aziz would reaching Delhi merely as a symbolic NSA with nothing in bag to match the agenda that Ajit Doval has prepared for Talks , but they will get a real shock when Talks will start to progress”, said a security expert, privy to the material that Sartaj would be taking with him to New Delhi.
The Daily Mail’s investigation indicate that there is a possibility that all the evidences and proofs that Sartaj would carry with him to Delhi are not formally handed over to Doval and his side but these would definitely be shared with the Indian side. Furthermore, the evidences to prove that all the terror dramas that Indians staged during past many months to blame Pakistan were comprehensively baseless would also be shared with the Indian side, formally or informally, it is not known.
The Daily Mail’s investigations reveal the Pakistani side is all equipped to take up the issue of the bails of the prime accused of Samjhaota Express terror attack and will express great disappointment over the issue. These investigations indicate that Pakistani side will argue that how could Swami Aseemanand who, had confessed his role in Samjhaota Express before the Indian court be allowed set free on bail? Pakistani side is also taking with it the copy of confessional statement by Swami Aseemanand to take up the matter.
The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that in his recorded statement Swami Aseemanand had exposed involvement of numerous Hindutva leaders, including himself, in planning and executing a string of terror attacks against Pakistanis and Muslims. The account rendered by Aseemanad corroborated with the evidence revealed by the Abhinav Bharat’s other arrested leaders Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Dayanand Pandey, Lt. Col Shrikant Purohit. The 37 audio tapes seized from Swami Pandey’s laptop that featured all these people discussing their terror activities also corroborate with Aseemanand’s confession.
The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that shedding light on the inner workings of the Hindutva terror network, Aseemanand had stated in his confession that it was not just an isolated group like the ultra-right wing terrorist organization like Abhinav Bharat that engineered blasts but, shockingly, Indian Military Intelligence and RSS were fully involved in the planning, financing and execution of these terrorist acts. According to Aseemanand, MI’s Lt. Col Purohit and RSS’s national executive member Indresh Kumar handpicked and financed numerous RSS Pracharaks (proselytizers) to carry out terror attacks. Aseemanand told the court that “Indresh Kumar met him at Shabri Dham (Aseemanand’s seminary in the Dangs (district of Gujarat) sometime in 2005, accompanied by many top RSS functionaries”. Inderjeet told Aseemanad that he had deputed Sunil Joshi for terror attacks and asked him to extend Joshi whatever help he required.” Aseemanand further narrated how Indresh financed Joshi for his terror activities and provided him men to plant bombs. Aseemanand also confessed to his own role in the terror plots and how he had motivated a bunch of RSS Pracharaks (proselytizers) and other Hindu radicals to carry out terror strikes at Malegaon, Hyderabad and Ajmer.
Further, according to Aseemanad, in March 2006, he and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Sunil Joshi, Bharat Riteshwar alias Bharat Bhai, hatched the diabolic plot of multiple terrorist attacks to target Pakistanis and Muslims. Aseemanand provided financing to Joshi to arrange the necessary logistics for the blasts. In April 2006, Joshi apparently held a hush-hush meeting with the firebrand BJP member parliament Adityanath, infamous for his rabid anti-Muslim speeches. In June 2006, Aseemanand, Riteshwar, Sadhvi Pragya and Joshi again met at Riteshwar’s house in Valsad. The meeting proved to be a chilling one, with far-reaching consequences. Joshi, for the first time, brought four associates with him Dange, Kalsangra, Lokesh Sharma and Ashok alias Amit. Aseemanand suggested that 80 percent of the people of Malegaon were Muslims and the first bomb should be exploded there. He also said that during the Partition, the Nizam of Hyderabad had opted to accede to Pakistan so Hyderabad was also a fair target. He further recommended that since Hindus also throng the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in large numbers we should also explode a bomb in Ajmer which would deter the Hindus from going there. Aseemanand also suggested the Aligarh Muslim University as a terror target. According to Aseemanand everybody agreed to target these places.
It is pertinent to mention here that when Swami Aseemanand made his confessional statement before the court, the magistrate asked him if he was making the statement under any pressure or influence to which Swami negated. Despite this, magistrate directed Aseemanand to go back to his cell and reconsider his statement for another 24 hours during which he would strictly be kept away from any interrogation or physical contact by the security officials. However, after 24 hours, when Swami Aseemanand reappeared before the Magistrate, he gave the same statement. Despite all this, he has now been granted bail.
Similarly, Pakistani side will also take up the issue of Lt. Colonel Srikanth Purohit of Indian Army’s Military Intelligence. Col. Purohit was also sent on bail despite the fact the Chief of Anti Terrorism Squad of Mumbai, Mr. Hemant Karkare had provided concrete evidences before the Indian court about immense involvement of Col. Purohit in a number of terror attacks inside India with main being the terror attack on Samjhaota Express Train in which around 70 Pakistanis were burnt alive. Karkare had also provided audio tapes in which Col. Purohit could be well heard of discussing plans of carrying out terror operations and it was proved that Col. Purohit, illegally obtained explosives from an Indian army facility in Occupied Kashmir to carry out attck on Samjhaota Express.
These investigations indicate that witnesses had told the investigators that the RDX used in Samjhota blasts was supplied by MI officer, Lt. Col Purohit procured by him from the Army Ordinance Depot in the Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) and the sophisticated locking mechanism used by the Indian Army was employed for all these blasts.
Here is an excerpt on the conversation:
LT COL PUROHIT: Swamiji, we haven’t spoken about certain things, but two operations have been done by us. One of our own officers has visited Israel for training and meeting and there was a very positive response… We demanded four things from Israel — continuous and uninterrupted supply of arms and training, our office with a saffron flag in Tel Aviv, political asylum and support for our cause of a Hindu Nation in the UN. Israel has asked us to show something on the ground and have promised at least a supply of arms and political asylum… I have a state-wise population of Muslims in each state but we need more arms and ammunition including AK-47s. We couldn’t buy much earlier because we didn’t have funds, now we have plenty.
MAJ UPADHYAY: AK-47 is available at Cox Bazaar in Gorakhpur, we can buy more from open sources as military weapons and ammunition can draw suspicion…
LT. COL PUROHIT: The Israelis ask us to give them proof of our involvement. What more proof do they need? We have completed two successful operations (investigators believe that Purohit was referring here to Samjhota and Ajmer blasts).
MAJ UPADHYAY: Don’t forget, the Hyderabad blasts were also executed by our man.
Elsewhere in the tapes, Purohit elaborates on other sinister strategies the Abhinav Bharat group plans on adopting against Pakistan and Muslims — including shooting people under false identities to create mayhem.
“I know that the army and the BSF don’t complement each other’s action,” says Col.Purohit. “Nor there is any coordination between the BSF, CRPF and state police. So if I buy two army vehicles from the scrap and paint them with army colours and send them along with our people in army uniform into Meerut, they can just fire and come out of the situation easily. There is so much confusion in this country.”
Some more excerpts of Lt. Col Purohit’s conversation with his Abhinav Bharat protégés about the nation they dreamed of creating are as follows:
Col Dhar: “We must aim for militarization of the organization (Abhinav Bharat). Every member at all levels must have a basic knowledge of weapons. We have partially done it so far. We should indoctrinate them with our ideology. We should establish an academy for ideological indoctrination. At the end of the course, each member will be tested and only those who pass will be finally admitted to the organization. The level of testing is when he will be tried in ‘action’. Then our organization will propagate establishment of Ram Rajyah (mythological kingdom of Hindu God Ram) called Abhinav Bharat (Dominant India). There will be a uniform code of conduct irrespective of any caste. Reporting channels like those in the armed forces will be established. This will ensure the smooth flow of information and passing of orders. An Honour Court Committee will exist at all levels. This will ensure strict adherence to moral and ethical behaviour as decided by the core group by all the members based on our Vedas (Compilation of Hindu Preaching).” Purohit thus presented a completed recipe of a religious-fascist organization.
Plans of Military Takeover in India: An insightful transcript of conversations of Lt. Col Purohit and other army officers about military takeover of India have been revealed are on the tapes a portion of which is reproduced here:
Col Dhar: Did you see one of my messages?
LT. COL PUROHIT: Yes… About how this country should be taken over by the army?
COL DHAR: Yes, yes. I have written three lakh (3-hundred thousand) letters… I distributed three lakh letters among the jawans(soldiers)… It is not a political stunt… And I distributed 20,000 maps of Akhand Bharat (Greater India) among the jawans on a 26 Januaryevent (India’s Republic Day)… It is my humble attempt to sow the seeds (of rebellion).
PANDEY: What if this organization is banned?
APTE: We will give it an international aspect… and a covert name. We have to fight. See, if you aren’t a Hindu, you are my enemy. I will be unsafe if you are alive… Obviously, this was not just empty bragging.
Links with Maoists, North East Secessionist movements and custodial killings:
The recorded conversations also show common operations and linkup of MI with Maoists and separatist insurgencies in North East of India. Purohit goes on to talk of Khetomi Sema, a leader of the banned insurgent group, Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland.
Purohit says he had saved his life and Sema has issued a letter to all his generals to support Purohit’s cause.
“He has promised to give us seven years of logistic support,” Purohit tells Pandey. Purohit’s conversations further reveal that he had full backing of the Indian army machinery to serve Abhinav Bharat. He says he was in the process of indoctrinating like-minded army officers who could serve in Abhinav Bharat. He also admits to catching and killing two Maoists in cold blood in Delhi.
LT. COL PUROHIT: “A police officer helped me buy weapons in Assam. I kept one pistol with me and sent these weapons to Nepal. Our study is on… We will soon start action. We have got a list of top 5-6 Maoist financers. You know one Assam DIG had informed me about two Maoists who had arrived in Delhi to kill me. We caught them at the Vasant Kunj Civic Centre. We kept them in our secret place at Munirka through the night. You know we have encroached upon a property in Munirka that has sewer lid inside the house. We got the information out of them, then killed them and threw them in the gutter.”
PUROHIT’S conversations also suggest an alarming shared mindset among sections of the army. He tells Pandey, “There was a captain and a major posted in Delhi. I managed to do my work with them over the phone. This work otherwise would have taken more than three months. It happened because I belong to Sangh and he was also from Sangh. I didn’t even know him. He was from UP and he did the work in one day. Tapping such people (with Sangh background) is important.”
PANDEY: I have to attend a programme organised by Deepak Rath, in Orissa on 17 February. This is his personal function.
LT. COL PUROHIT: Is it in Bhubaneshwar city? Let me know, I will arrange my Orissa military General Officer Commanding (GOC) to receive you…
The conversion betrays similar action taken by the Indian military intelligence when Purohit was posted in IOK. MI operatives and Abhinav Bharat members dressed in Army uniform, had slaughtered Sikh community members in Chattisinghpura, IOK, when the then US President Clinton was visiting India in 2001 and blamed it on LeT.
The fact that these conversations were not recorded under police custody or during interrogation is significant.
The Pakistani side is set to ask India to share these Audio evidences of Col.Purohit with Pakistan while Sartaj Aziz and his aides would also be carrying certain Audio-Video Clips as evidences with them.