NEW DELHI: Indian intelligence agencies are taking a hard look at all the Indo-US working groups formed in the wake of the euphoric resumption of bilateral ties during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The search comes in the backdrop of the Intelligence Bureau establishing that Rosanna Minchew, a third secretary in the US embassy in New Delhi, had made formidable inroads into the National Security Council Secretariat and the Research and Analysis Wing using the Indo-US Cyber Security Forum as a smokescreen. Minchew, authoritative sources told DNA, was the person who cultivated Mukesh Saini, former coordinator of the Indo-US Cyber Security Forum, SS Paul, a NSCS system analyst, and Brigadier U Dasgputa, Director (computers) at the RAW headquarters.
Saini and Paul are in now in police custody and under sustained interrogation and Dasgputa has been asked not to attend his office and the RAW headquarters is awaiting IB report to finalise his punishment. The US diplomat, sources said, fled the country as the counter-espionage wing of Intelligence Bureau zeroed in on Dasguta and Paul a few weeks back.
Minchew was a member of the Indo-US Cyber Security Forum, one of the many bilateral forums between the two countries established in the recent times. “Not much has been done there,” says a senior official who is aware of the progress of the forum.
However, the establishment is dismayed that it was used to make deep inroads into Indian intelligence and security establishment by the Central Intelligence Agency. This is the second major break in by the CIA into Indian intelligence set up in recent times, first being the sensational case of Joint Director of RAW Rabinder Singh who fled to the US even as he was under surveillance in 2004.
Source in the intelligence and security establishment told DNA that they are “looking closely” at other bilateral forums. India and the US have several bilateral forums like Defence Policy Group, Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, US-India High Technology Cooperation Group etc where senior officials of both sides interact. Besides, all the three military arms-Navy, Army and Air Force-have their own bilateral arrangements. “We are looking at all aspects. The forums, or any other bilateral contact, cannot be exploited by the intelligence agencies,” a senior official in the security establishment told DNA.
