- – The concept of terror dramas in IoK began decades back
- – Maiden episode surfaced in 2000 on the eve of US President’s visit to the region
- – Indian army killed own innocent citizens to put terror blame on Pakistan
- – Drama touched now horizons after Doval’s arrival to the scene
- – Doval has a history of creating Fake freedom fighting groups in IoK, Punjab
- – Indian army staged similar drama just a few days before UNGA session in 2013
From Christina Palmer & Anjali Sharma
NEW DELHI: Attack on an Indian army base camp in Uri sector of Indian Occupied Kashmir emerges as yet another episode of terror drama serial, being run by Indian army and Indian intelligence components for past many decades, reveal the investigations of The Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail’s investigations leap back to March 2000 when the then US President Bill Clinton was on a high profile visit to Pakistan and India and it was expected that he will put the equal onus on Pakistan and India to solve the Kashmir conflict.
However, in the middle of the US President’s visit IoK police arrested one suspected terrorist named Mohammad Yaqoob Wagey, who during his interrogation, admitted being part of a militant group.That information was shared by the then SSP Ananatnag with the then Commander, 1 Sector Rashtriya Rifles (RR), and a so-called joint operation by the RR and police personnel was launched on March 25, 2000, in which five unidentified terrorists were killed.
Immediately after the operation, then SSP Anantanag and higher Army officials visited the site, saw the dead bodies and arms and ammunition recovered from the terrorists and gave interviews to media.
On March 29, 2000, there was a protest demonstration by local villagers demanding further investigation of the incident which resulted in chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Anantnag directing that the bodies be exhumed for DNA testing. Anantnag police station was asked to register a case and investigation by a SIT, headed by SSP Anantnag, was launched.
On March 6, 2002, a leading Delhi-based newspaper published a report, “J&K govt fudges DNA samples to cover up civilian killings”.
On March 9, 2002, the IoK government set up a one-man commission by Justice G.A. Kuchaoi to probe the DNA fudging.
After submission of the commission report to the state government, a three-member Cabinet sub-committee under the deputy chief minister was constituted, which recommended that all cases be handed over to CBI. The CBI after its investigation was of the view that the Army unit, i.e., 7 RR, hatched a criminal conspiracy to pick up some persons and to kill them in a fake encounter so that they could be labeled as terrorists from .
Accordingly, the CBI filed a challan (charge-sheet) against the then CO, three officers and one JCO of 7 RR for their alleged involvement in the murder and abduction of five civilians in the court of CJM at Srinagar. No police person was named in the case.
The CJM granted opportunity to the Army to exercise the option of the competent military authority taking over the case under the provisions of Army Act Section 125 for trial by court martial or that the trial be held in criminal court.
The Army authorities filed an application before the court pointing out that no prosecution could be instituted without the previous sanction of the Central government in view of Section 7 of the draconian law, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1990 and, therefore, the proceedings may be dropped by returning the chargesheet.
The probe agency filed a reply to the application by Army authorities, wherein it averred that since the alleged act cannot be termed as, “discharge of official duty”, the accused persons are not eligible for protection under Section 7 of the AFSPA , 1990.
The case, initially heard in the courts, subsequently came up for hearing in the Supreme Court based on a special leave petition filed by the Army challenging the directions of the high court. The matter was hushed-up accordingly and no one from the Indian army or police was ever punished for such a high profile crime.
The Daily Mail’s Investigations further indicate that Indian army establishment that has been exposed very badly for organizing fake terror incidents in IoK and across LoC to create extraordinary pressure for Pakistan Army and to comprehensively sabotage the peace path, in 2013, again just a few days before the UNGA Session where the Pakistani and Indian political leadership were likely to break the ice over Kashmir dispute, managed to successfully hold a filmy style terror episode in Occupied Kashmir with the then opposition and currently ruling political party BJP come up within seconds to strongly oppose the scheduled talks for peace between Pakistani and Indian Premiers later the same week in the US. BJP, while the gun battle between the so-called terrorists and the Indian troopers was still going on, as a pre-planned and premeditated move, declared the attackers being Pakistani and strongly urged the Indian Premier to call off the scheduled talks with his Pakistani counterpart, in the backdrop of the IoK terror drama.
The Daily Mail, in its edition of Friday, September 19th, 2013, published a special Investigative report titled “Indian Army out to sabotage peace. In the said report, it was clearly mentioned that the Indian Generals had planned to organize some new terror drama in IoK or along the LoC to sabotage the expected talks between Pakistani and Indian leaders in the US by blaming Pakistan for the planned drama. The report, which confirmed by the Indian army officials, stated that for the purpose, Indian army had rushed additional troops to the occupied valley under the garb of increasing the security measures along Line of Control to avoid any infiltration from Pakistan. However, the Indian side could never prove that it was a genuine terror incident and that too with any involvement from Pakistan.
The Daily Mail’s investigations further indicate that just a week before staging this terror drama in 2013, the Indian army created panic across India over LoC by rushing additional security forces, both BSF and Army, to the Line of Control (LoC) in Occupied Kashmir. The Indian army cited the reason for this dubious troops build up at LoC that the move was initiated following “specific ground level reports” and wireless intercepts of subversive elements revealing a sharp increase in the number militants holed up in the area waiting to cross over. Apparently the reinforcements were rushed to intensify patrolling in the sectors of Uri, Poonch, Rajouri and Mendher, however, later the terror drama proved that the entire move was pre-planned while the Indian army was constantly violating the ceasefire accord and was carrying out heavy shilling and unprovoked firing toward Pakistan.
In the current situation, it emerges crystal clearly that just on the eve of the UNGA session where Pakistan is set to raise the issue of gross human rights violations and brutalities of occupying Indian Forces in IoK where they, in a recent spam of some 80 days have killed over 100 innocent civilians, Indian army has opted to counter the Pakistan move by releasing another episode of its drama serial of terror. However, they have BJP as the government this time and Ajit Doval as the master planner and National Security Advisor to make the drama even more colorful and safeguarded.
The Daily Mail’s findings indicate Ajit Doval has been doing such stunts wa smartness in the occupied Kashmir since the 1990s. At that time Ajit Doval, who was placed at Intelligence Bureau, was moved to the occupied valley. Doval first started a fake insurgency movement to suppress the genuine and unarmed struggling freedom fighters and portrayed them as Pakistan-backed militants and then arranged their killings by creating counter insurgent groups that paved the way for what the Indian army, RAW and IB are doing in IOK today under the garb of combating militant insurgency and that too under the garb of highly controversial and rather draconian laws like Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) and POTA etc. During this period, Ajit Doval, who was IB Area Incharge of IOK, organized a high voltage drama to counter Kashmiris’ struggle and to demoralize the freedom fighters and also to create religious controversies amongst freedom fighting groups about their leaders. Under this conspiracy, in October 1993, Ajit Doval informed some likeminded media persons in New Delhi that some freedom fighters of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) had occupied the famous Shrine of Hazrat Bal in the valley with some highly ulterior motives that threatens the sacredness of the shrine. On the other side, Ajit Doval, using IB platform, sent a classified SOS to Lieutenant General Zaki, Security Advisor to the then Governor of IOK, informing him that locks securing access to the Moe-e- Muqaddas sanctum had been tampered with, and that 40 militants had entered the shrine with 12 LMGs. Upon receiving this IB reports from Doval, General Zaki, without awaiting verification, called Governor KV Krishna Rao and Union Home Secretary NN Vohra and informed them that an attempt had been made to steal from the shrine its famous relic, a purported hair from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)s beard. He also hurriedly summoned a meeting of the Unified Command. The Governor asked Zaki to intervene and eventually, two battalions of the Indian Army laid siege at the shrine on October 15, 1993. This is said to be the first major operation under the Hindutva-army nexus, at least with regard to IOK in which Hindutva activist, in the ranks of IB provided a platform to Indian army to go wild in IOK under the garb of hunting down the militants. But The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that it was merely a promo of the film as the evidences reveal the entire Doval game from the IB’s platform in IOK with regard to Harat Bal Shrine episode. Decades down the line, the Indian government’s then Divisional Commissioner and Chief Negotiator and later Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah has recounted the behind- the-scene maneuvering and the disconnect between various government agencies and higher ups during the said episode. In an issue of India’s weekly Tehelka magazine, Hibullah writes that the militant leaders holed up inside the Shrine were already in touch with the outside world through an unlisted telephone connection installed inside the shrine at the behest of the Intelligence Bureau (IB). He writes that he was amazed the way the militants appeared always so well informed of daily events outside during his negotiations with them. One day the Telephone Department told Habibullah, who was also Divisional Commissioner of the Kashmir Valley, that they had discovered an unlisted telephone connection, inside the Hazrat Bal shrine premises. When he asked the department to disconnect the line, he was told by the IB that the line should be allowed to remain as it was there at their behest. The Telephone Department had in the meantime told Habibullah that they had discovered an unlisted number inside the premises of the shrine. “I, of course asked that the line be disconnected forthwith, only to receive a call from the Intelligence Bureau that the line was there at their behest, and that it should be allowed to remain operational,” writes Habibullah. According to Habibullah, when he discovered this development and brought it into the notice of General Zaki, General Zaki got furious and asked Habibullah to discuss the matter with him in person. Habibullah says that on his way from Raj Bhavan to the shrine, he was asked by Lt Gen Zaki to accompany him to his residence, so that the development could be discussed in details and with secrecy. “On the way, a military truck rammed our car injuring Zaki and almost killing me and it later proved that the crash was no mere accident,” says Habibullah. The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that it was a multifaceted plan to not only create a rift between different freedom fighting groups and to disgrace the most prominent group JKLF in the eyes and minds of allied groups by creating a blame of bidding to steal the sacred hair of Holey Prophet (as JKLF was the most successful freedom fighter group had commanded a great respect and following amongst the other similar groups) but it was also aimed at paving the way for army operations and lastly to generate a feeling of insecurity and helplessness amongst the Muslims on the both sides of LoC by capturing of Hazrat Bal Shrine by Indian army with Muslims being helpless and merely on the mercy of Hindu soldiers.
The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that the plan was jointly conceived by the then RAW number 2 B Raman and Ajit Doval as Raman had mastered in creating fake freedom fighting groups during his handling of Khalistan freedom struggle by the Sikh community of India. Under the plan Ajit Doval penetrated some IB supported individuals into the Shrine, fixed a phone line inside the Shrine to give instructions to the fake occupants as doing so through Radio (Wireless system) was not safe. Sent a fake report to media persons and to the Governor’s security advisor; organized siege of most sacred shrine by Indian army; arranged a safe and secret exit for his own sent occupants and in the meanwhile, after learning that his plan had been smelled by officials like Habibullah and General Zaki, gave them a life threat by arranging a lethal road crash and succeeded in doing all that he wanted and planned as neither Habibullah, nor General Zaki ever uttered a single word over the issue for decades. It, at the same time, speaks very high of Hindutva-army nexus as a Muslim officer with the rank of Lt. General in the Indian army could never utter a single word despite having the complete knowledge that a life attempt on him was made by none else but by a serving driver of the Indian army. This episode led the Indian army and its so-called security forces to go for killing and brutally torturing of millions of Muslims in IOK under the garb of militancy combat. Kashmiris were not engaged in any armed struggle for their freedom until Ajit Doval managed to portray them as armed insurgents via exaggerated and glorified Hazrat Bal episode. It remains a mystery just like the 26/11 Mumbai attacks where the entire security chain of and establishment of India could not over power the attackers armed merely with AJ-47 assault rifle and a bunch of ordinary hand grenades for about 70 hours, in Hazrat Bal, two battalions, fully armed and equipped with all weaponry and sophisticated assault tools, could not over power merely 49 militants for days and days and eventually let them walk feely under an agreement. The safe exit of 40 militants who were reported to be armed with assault rifles highly mysteriously disappeared from the “Crime Scene” with at least 2 battalions of Indian army merely acting as silent spectators.
The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that the original plan was to arrange the stealing of the sacred relics from the Shrine and let the occupants go vanished via a tunnel that Doval had already arranged and got dug with the help of army personnel. Doval believed that such blame on JKLF would put all other freedom fighters on the mission of eliminating all JKLF operators as part of Jihad and the most prominent freedom fighter group will be eliminated by its own followers. However, threat perception experts and evaluation analysts at the IB, RAW and Army headquarters, rejected this part of Doval plan as it was perceived that such a move will bring a great religious wrath not only in IOK but also across India and most probably across the Muslim world and thus it was decided to end the mission in safe exit of occupants.
With such background, one could easily expect much from Doval than what has so far transpired out of the Uri episode.
