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Posted on 29 September 2012
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| CURRENT AFFAIRS |
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TAMIL NADU |
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Arrest of an alleged ISI module raises security concerns
Thameem Ansari, who was arrested earlier this month, was trying to access sensitive information on naval bases, reports Sanjay Pinto
The naval base in Visakhapatnam appears to have been on Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence's (ISI) radar for quite sometime now. Tamil Nadu police intelligence sources claim that the 'ISI agent' Thameem Ansari, has confessed to have had the Navy's mission code named 'Operation Varsha' as the main item on his 'to do list' assigned to him by his handlers. On 16 September, Ansari was arrested in Tiruchirapalli on charges of criminal conspiracy and under the Official Secrets Act. Tamil Nadu police's Q Branch, which exclusively monitors terror-related activities, when Ansari was on his way to the airport to leave for Colombo.
Inspector General Of Police (Internal Security) Abhash Kumar said that 30-year-old Ansari, a resident of Tamil Nadu's district Thanjavur district, was planning to visit the naval base in Visakhapatnam and collect information on India's Arihant class submarines, of which four vessels are under construction and expected to be commissioned by 2015. "The mission was to collect sensitive data about the specifications of the submarine, details about the scientists working on the programme, the tests being conducted and so on. But he was unable to go there," Kumar added.
The Q Branch is planning to seek police custody of Ansari again on Monday 1 October to unravel more possible plots that were in the process of being hatched; and also to probe on the links he may have attempted to establish with the staff in the naval base.
According to highly placed police sources, Ansari's handlers named Haji and Saji are Sri Lankan Tamil Muslims who are said to be working for Aamir Zubair Quereshi. Quereshi, who is an official at the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo, is suspected to be an ISI operative.
Ansari also managed to get hold of pictures and video footage of the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, Ooty (where incidentally, a few Sri Lankan Defence Officers have been visiting on and off, sparking protests from political parties in Tamil Nadu), Nagapattinam Port, a few military training exercises and Army uniforms, with the help of an ex-serviceman. A police source said that the role of the ex-serviceman has been probed and he was found to have been "unaware of Ansari's real intention." Investigators are however not ruling out a recce being planned by terrorists for a coastal entry similar to 26/11 Mumbai attacks, masquerading as Indian Army personnel, that would probably explain the need for military insignia.
Is Tamil Nadu's coastline being viewed as a soft target by terror outfits? Ansari's arrest has raised the antennae of the intelligence agencies. When asked if Ansari sought information on the nuclear facilities at Koodankulam, Kalpakkam or Sriharikota, a senior official denied any such plan.
A commerce graduate, Ansari was a district secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and an activist in southern Tamil Nadu. He had been exporting vegetables to Sri Lanka. His relatives claim he is innocent and has been framed by the cops based on wrong leads. Currently lodged in Tiruchrapalli jail, Ansari is likely to be interrogated further. By zeroing in on him, the intelligence sleuths claim they have busted the first ISI module in South India.
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