A double agent at work

Gurbachan Jagat

The Raj Bhavan complex in Manipur, where I was Governor from 2008 to 2013, was a big one and the residence was a very old building. However, the office, just 20 yards away from the residence, was a spanking new structure of glass and aluminium. Sitting in the office, I could have a full view of the lawns and gardens outside. My secretarial and other staff also worked from the same complex.

On September 8, 2009, when I was sitting in my office, I received a call from the branch head of a Central intelligence agency that militants were trying to send a grey-coloured Maruti-800 car fitted with explosives and detonation devices into the Raj Bhavan. They had passed this information to the local police also.

As soon as I heard this sensitive information, I stepped out and called my secretary and both of us looked towards the parking area of the Raj Bhavan, which was very close to the office complex. We saw a grey-coloured Maruti car parked in the parking area and it looked to be similar to the one that had been mentioned by the intelligence agency.

The local police came along with a bomb disposal squad and it verified that there was an IED, weighing about 25 kg, fitted on the rear seat of the car with gelatine and iron nails and bolts. Three hand grenades, several detonators and two mobile handsets were attached to the IED. The intent appeared to have been to explode the IED using the mobile phones. However, due to some technical snag, the detonators could not work. Had the device worked, it had enough explosives to demolish the office complex. The bomb squad took the IED to the Manipur Police Training School (about 12 km from the Raj Bhavan) and defused it at the police training firing range.

It became clear to us immediately that the informer, who had conveyed the information about the explosive-laden car to the intelligence agency, had first ensured that the vehicle had entered the Raj Bhavan complex. He was obviously trying to save his skin by informing his intelligence handlers also. However, his leanings were clearly with extremist groups because the device would have exploded, except for a malfunctioning, even before we were informed. This was discussed with the intelligence agencies. I am not aware of what subsequent action they had taken. However, such double agents are not a rare occurrence because the informers have to establish their credibility with both sides — the result depends on where their loyalty really lies.

Later, this matter was investigated vigorously by the Manipur Police. While they were able to ascertain that the occupants of the car had stated that they wanted to submit a memorandum to the Governor on behalf of a local club, the Kangleipak Communist Party (Military Council) claimed to have made this attempt in the Raj Bhavan. The KCP-MC alleged that they wanted to target the Raj Bhavan because the Governor was masterminding the killing of innocent people by the security forces in Manipur.

Although the police were able to identify the driver of the explosive-laden car, they could not apprehend him as he was variously reported to have been seen in Assam, Bangladesh and Nepal, and later to have died in 2013-14.

The Union Home Ministry ordered a review of the security arrangements at the Raj Bhavan. A senior officer, who was heading the security branch in the Intelligence Bureau, came to Manipur and inspected the entire Raj Bhavan complex. (The officer happened to be Mr Dinkar Gupta, the present DG of Punjab Police.)

He recommended a thorough overhaul of the security arrangements inside and outside the Raj Bhavan, which were immediately implemented by the state government. No untoward incident took place during the rest of my tenure in Manipur.

One of the many recommendations he made to improve the security arrangements was the installation of CCTV cameras along the boundary wall and other vulnerable points inside the Raj Bhavan complex. However, my secretary asked the ADC to the Governor, who was from the police department, to again go over the complex and ensure if all points had been covered. After the ADC had reported to my secretary, the latter came to me and could barely suppress his laughter and handed over to me a list of new vulnerable points identified by the ADC. Among other points, the ADC had recommended that our bedroom also needed a CCTV camera. This became a trigger for many jokes going around in the Raj Bhavan in Manipur later on.

— The writer is formerchairman of UPSC and former Governor of Manipur