WAS THIS INTELLIGENCE SOURCE SILENCED BY MEDIA EXPOSURE?

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 4, 2009
• Sequence Number: 2
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
Iq
Next 2 Page(s) In Document Denied
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
 as this inteffigencesource
. Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
silenced by media exposure?
small story on Page 19 of
The,. ashington_Post -o
I%W~r -t~f4~r _ 3; r eporte t e
at
I
chZ_96viHiffien4_Ab
recalled one of its diplomats from
India after he was implicated in a
spy scandal in that country. Two pri-
vate French citizens who also were
reportedly involved already had fled
the country.
The Indian government had
arrested several high officials in the
prime minister's office on charges of
providing information to an uniden-
tified foreign power. The home min-
ister told Parliament that it had not
yet been determined what foreign
intelligence agency was involved.
The story went on to say that the
Pakistan. The Indian government
deduced that there must have been
a leak from the prime minister's
office. Surveillance of aides working
in the office was begun, with the
result that several aides were
accused of divulging information to
unauthorized foreigners..
Indian government had been alerted The first report of the CIA
to the espionage operation by stories briefing of the Senate Intelligence
that hadappeared in.TheWashington Committee appeared on ABC's
Po t3"Wd,TheJVew York Times last' l"World News Tbnight" on Sept. 13.
' epU5. 'he stories concerned a CIA chorman Peter Jennings read this
,%riefing of-the Senate Intelligencetatement: "There is concern on
Committee. They discussed a top- Capitol Hill tonight about a possible
secret recommendation to the prime confrontation between India and
minister of India by some of her Pakistan. ABC's John Scali has
advisers suggesting a pre-emptive learned that some senators became
strike against a nuclear reactor in alarmed after they learned of a pos-
Reed Irvine is chairman of Accu-
racy in Media.
The the foreign
source will be less
willing to share its
secrets with the CIA
in the future.
that any attack on the facility was
imminent, that this was just one of
several trouble spots worth
watching closely. There has long
been concern in India that Pakistan
might be constructing a nuclear
device. Pakistan has said it was not."
Two days later, on Sept. IS, Philip
Taubman had a long story in The
New York Times reporting that
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had
sible Indian attack on a Pakistani
nuclear facility. U.S. intelligence
authorities insist that no special
warning was given to the senators.
received recommendations from
some of her senior advisers that
India carry out an air sirike against
the.nuclear reactor at Kahuta, Paki-
stan. The purpose would be to pre-
vent the development of nuclear
weapons by the Pakistanis. Mr. Taub-
man said that both Sens. Barry Gold-
water and Daniel Patrick Moynihan
had expressed concern about the
possibility of an Indian air strike
against the Kahuta installation. Mr.
Taubman said: "The CIA told the
Senate committee, according to two
members, that it had learned from a
sensitive intelligence source that
Mrs. Gandhi received recommenda-
tions this year from some senior
aides that India attack the Kahuta
plant to make sure that the enrich-
ment process was not used for the
development of weapons."
The Washington Post story by Don
Oberdorfer reported that govern-
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
received recommendations from
some of her senior advisers that
India carry out an air strike against
the-nuclear reactor at Kahuta, Paki-
stan. The purpose would be to pre-
vent the development of nuclear
weapons by the Pakistanis. Mr. Taub-
man said that both Sens. Barry Gold-
water and Daniel Patrick Moynihan
had expressed concern about the
possibility of an Indian air strike
against the Kahuta installation. Mr.
Taubman said: "The CIA told the
Senate committee, according to two
members, that it had learned from a
sensitive intelligence source that
Mrs. Gandhi received recommenda-
tions this year from some senior
aides that India attack the Kahuta
plant to make sure that the enrich-
ment process was not used for the
development of weapons."
The Washington Post story by Don
Oberdorfer reported that govern-
ment officials in Washington had dis-
counted as "alarmist" the ABC News
report that Prime Minister Gandhi
had been urged by her advisers to
attack the Pakistani nuclear installa-
tion. Mr. Oberdorfer said some offi-
cials noted that the report appeared
to come from a CIA briefing of the
Senate Intelligence Committee.
It would appear that the CIA had
acquired its information from a for-
eign intelligence agency that had
developed valuable assets within the
Indian government, a government
with close ties to the Soviet Union.
The CIA shared that information
with senators, and some of them
promptly blabbed to the media. The
intelligence operation was
destroyed, and we can assume that
the foreign source will be less will-
ing to share its secrets with the CIA
in the future.
Apparently neither the senators
nor the journalists worried about
what would happen to the sensitive
source if the information were made
public. The people who run The New
York Times and The Washington Post
claim that they are qualified to
decide what should be kept secret.
Question: Did they blow this
operation on purpose or did they
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
 ? Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
Spy Case:
3
By STEVEN R. WEISMAN
specW W The New Tort Tbz
NEW DELHI, Jan. 23 - Indian in-
vestigators were reported today to-
have implicated at least three French
nationals in an extensive espionage
ring that purportedly passed sensitive
military information to the West. .
Disclosures about the spy ring have
shaken the Government here and led to
the resignation of one of Prime Minis-
ter Rajiv Gandhi's top advisers, as well
as the arrest of more than a dozen In-
dian officials and businessmen. .
Prime Minister Gandhi first dis-
closed the existence of the espionage
operation last Friday, but since then he
and his aides have refused to give out
details on an official basis. -
Indian newspapers, however, have
been awash this week with articles
about. petty bribery among clerks,
messengers and junior officers
throughout the Government, along
with the apparent involvement of In-
dian and French businessmen.
Reports of Bribes
There have also been reports of
bribes involving imported liquor, cash
and "dancing girls," a term for prosti-
tutes. The Press Trust of India, the
leading news agency, has reported that
11 officials and 3 Indian businessmen
have been arrested. Other intelligence
officials have apparently told the news-
papers that as many as 16 arrests have
been made. .'
Most of the Government officials
were reportedly low-level. But the ar-
rest of a deputy secretary and two
other aides in the central Government
led This week to the resignation of P. C.-
Alexander, principal secj?etary -to the
Prime Minister and one of perhaps a
half-dozen members of his inner circle.
Speaking this week before the Parlia-
ment, the 40-year-old Prime Minister
praised Mr. Alexander for.accepting at
least part of the responsibility for the
espionage ring even though there was
no evidence that he knew anything
about it -
The resignation, Mr. Gandhi said,
was "in keeping with the highest tradi-
tions of the service."
Grumbling Over News Leal m
Mr. Gandhi's actions in the last week
have generally brought praise even
from opposition members of Parlia-
ment The spy case appears to be rein-
forcing Mr. Gandhi's reputation as a
"Mr. Clean" who is trying to break
from the policies and practices of his
mother, the late Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi, who was assassinated Oct. 31.
For all the accounts of boxes full of
documents being uncovered, there has
been very' little specific information
about precisely which secrets were
compromised and which foreign gov-
ernments obtained the information-
Newspapers now describe the "king-
pin" of the operation as Coomer Na-
rain, a regional manager of the Manek
After the disclosure earlier this week
that a French diplomat was involved in
the spy ring, France recalled "for
con-
sultations" its deputy military attache
here, Col. Alain Bolley. '
'Punitive Action' Promised
"Colonel Bolley has denied any
con-
nection to any espionage ring. Accord-
ing to a report in The Statesman on
Wednesday France informed India
'Mresday that it would take "punitive
action" against Colonel Bolley.
Today several Indian newspapers re-
ported that two French businessmen
left India in the last few days before
Government investigators were about
to arrest them. There was no confirma-
tion of their identities, however.
There have also been reports that
among the secrets compromised were
confidential reports from the Prime
Minister's office and intelligence notes
on the security situation in Pakistan
and Sri Lanka, and in turbulent areas
of India itself, including the Punjab
and Assam. ,
Also said to have been compromised
were details about sensitive negotia-
tions on military procurement. India is
embarking on a significant militarybuildup, and is discussing posslbld
weapons purchases with France, Brit.
.sin, and West Germany. Its.extensive
military purchases from the Soviet
Union have also long been of interest to =
Western intelligence agencies..
]al Group of Industries, a Bombay- I
based company involved in Govern- r!
went military contracts. -
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5 I) I I }c.<
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
2 Tied to Spy Case, I
Said to Flee India
NEW DELHI-Two French
-nationals allegedly trafficking in
state secrets slipped out of India i
before the French government
recalled a diplomat also said to
be implicated in India's spy
scandal, The United News of
India reported yesterday.
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
told Parliament that he will go
"to great depths to find out what
has happened, why it has hap-
pened and how it affects the
country's security," The Asso-
ciated Press reported.
Home Affairs Minister S.B.
Chavan told Parliament that in-
vestigators had not determined
yet if the CIA, Soviet KGB or
some other foreign intelligence
"- agency was involved.
The Hindustan Times re-
ported that the government's
suspicions were first aroused by
stories in The Washington Post
and The New York Times about
a CIA briefing to the U.S. Sen-
ate Intelligence Committee on a
top-secret Indian plan to attack
a Pakistani nuclear reactor. It
was then that counterintelli-
gence started surveillance of
the prime minister's aides, the
paper said.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5 3
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
Secret Papers Found. in India Espionage Case
By SANJOY IAZARIKA
Spacial ao The Nc. Yort Time -
NEW DELHI, Jan. 19 - A. Indian',
magistrate said today that intelligence
officials had found many incrim;r>_ating
documents, including photocopies of.
military deals and secret military in-
formation, in the homes of several Gov-
ernment officials and others arrested
in a major espionage scandal here.'
One of the suspects had worked in the
Prime Minister's office for 15 years.
The ' magistrate, Bharat - Bhushan,
said, "The police told me that the sus-
pects were passing on vital information
connected with defense and our na-
.tianal security ? to certain foreign
The Press Trust of India news
agency said the that among.the seized
documents were copies of reports, on
Cabinet meetings an the Punjab and Sri
'Lanka . ' ", .
The news agency quoted intelligence
sources as saying that those arrested
had "made a photocopy of almost all
.the important files in the Prime Minis-
ler's and Defense Ministry secratari- '
at'
The arrests were made Thursday
and Friday, official sources say- But.a
Home Affairs Ministry spokesman said
be knew nothing of the case. Home Al-'
fairs Minister S. B. Chavan did not re-
spond to more than a dozen phone calls
to his office and home. Aides said he
was busy at meetings.
A spokesman for Prime "Minister
Ghandi said Mr. Kher had worked for
about 15 years as a personal aide to
powers, ? although, they have not dis-
closed the names of these powers:"
? On Friday, Mr. "Bhushan ordered
eight men suspected of spying for for-
eign agencies into police custody until
Jan. 28. -
All have been charged with viola-
tions of the Official. Secrets Act and
criminal conspiracy against the state.
Conviction could result in a death
sentence or life imprisonment.
The United Nevgs of India reported
late tonight that 11 people were being
held.
Mr. Bhushan said be did not remem-
ber the names of the accused, but said
they included two under secretaries
-and one deputy secretary. At least one
senior officials on the Prime Minister's
staff.
H. Y. 'Sharada Prasad, the spokes-
man, said he did not have details of Mr.,
Kher's service record, and be refused
to give further details about him:
Mr. Kher, in his position as personal
assistant, had access to important Gov-
ernment documents, letters and tele-
phone conversations. Dr. Alexander is
among the country's most respected
civil servants and had held the post of
Principal Secretary for about five
yes, pnm87ily under Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi, Mr. Ghandi's mother.
Newspaper and news agency reports
say that intelligence agents at Mr:
Ghandi's residence had become suspi- 4
cious of the movements of some of the
suspectsand acted after several weeks.
of surveillance. The reports said the
case was followed up by the Intelli-
of them, he said, was from the Defense
Ministry.
One of the others was identified as'
N. T. Kber, a personal assistant to Dr.
P.-C. Alexander, a top aide to `Prime
Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
signed d his Dr. Alexander said he had r?e?
post as principal secretary.
a top adviser to the Prime Minlster.
Otiiers held include a clerk in President'
Zail Singh's office, an aide to the Sec 3-d-11
of Defense Production and two
business executives.
Mr. Bhushan said the court was
cleared of nonrelated litigants and law-I
yers for the brief bearing. Be said the
suspects were in their 40's and 50's and
had no attorneys to represent them.
gence Bureau' and army:intelligence
and was part of a special drive author-
ized by Mr. Ghandi to overhaul the se-
curity system that failed to protect his
mother, who was assassinated Oct. 31
by some of her Sikh bodyguards.
Official sources identified the clerk
in President'Singh's press office as S.
Sankaran, and another as Jagdish
Chandra, an assistant in'the office of
the Secretary for Defense Production.
Official sources, meanwhile,-]denel-
fled one of the arrested businessmen as
Cciomar Narain,-the regional manager
of Maneklal S. L .M., which also has of -
fices in Bombay.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5* I aolg
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
Worsening India-Pakistan Ties Wo ~~ U
accordingto Administration officials.
YWASHINGTON, Sept. 14 -The Rea.
weapons. Pakistan asserts that th
sines that a recent uteri
e
tnt is for peaceful nuclear research
could ultimately lead to has-
,
it has not permitted inspection of Indian
the installation.
Sikh
h
The C.I.A. told the Senate commit
students. T
e plane,
ld .today.
h
-
, according to two members, that it fli
ht i
t
e threat of a
d
g
n
learned from a se
iti
l milltary confrogati did not appear
ns
ve intelli.
scan, at
geese s
Gandhi of India has
ource that Mrs. Gandhi re-
celved fro
year
ra
it both dues and India
that th
hi
mendadons from son
mm some senio
des that India
tack the ICahuta plant to make sure
e
jackers were
d against a
that the enrichment process was not
ent th
d
e
on to pre.
used for the development of weapons
Administration officials.I
I v
e
ev
lopment on
.
President Mohammad Zia W-Haq of
P
akistan has repeatedly said that Paki-
jbad resisted the reoommendaUon and'
that`Intelligence -information reaching.
In-addition; they said
the
h
strike remained unlikely.
A State Department spokesman
,
Romberg,. said today, "We have
been concerned in recent weeks by sug-
gestions of a temporary cooling in
Indo-Pakistani relations.-
Mr. Romberg said signs of the chW
included "cancellation of scheduled
nonaggression talks, cease-fire line
clashes in Kashmir. public recrimina-
tions over the handling of hijackers and
~e a .bons of meddling in each other's
Mr. Romberg added, "We do not be.
lieve that conflict between the two
countries was or is imminent."
C.LA. Briefs Senators
Members of;tbe Senate Select Com-
mlttea on Intelligence were briefed
about the renewed tension on Thursday
by the Central Intelligence Agency, ac-
cording to Administration officials.
Tbeoffldais'said that the panel's
chairman and deputy chairman, Sena-
tors Barry M. Goldwater, Republican
o
f
Arizona
and Daniel P
t
i
,
a
r
ck Moyni.
ban. Democrat of New York expressed
concern about the possibility of an In-
dian air raid on Pakistan's nuclear in-
stallation in Kahuta, near the border
with India.
Pakistan has been widely reported to
e working on uranium enrichment at
.be he plant, part with help from China,
refused to permit international inspect
tion of most of its nuclear installations.
Relations between India and Paki-
stan, which have fought three wars in
the last 36 years, had appeared to be
improving in recent years. The two
countries opened discussions about im-
Proving relations and Mrs. Gandhi and
General Zia met in New Delhi .in
November 1982 for the first talks of
substance between the leaders of India
and Pakistan in more than a decade.
Start of Deterioration
But the good feelings unexpectedly
began to evaporate late last year, Ad,-
ministratieon officials said. In January
India accused Pakistan of threatening
its security with a major arms buildup,
with American help, and of preparing
for war
.
India then denied a report in the coo-
trolled Pakistan{ press that it h
ad de
.
ployed 29 army divisions on the Paid.
stani border.
The tensions led to the cancellation of
the nonaggression talks, which began
after the meeting between Mrs. Gandhi
and General Zia. A commission estab-
lished by the two leaders to foster
f
riendly relati
ons met once in June
1983. The commission, in turn, set up
four subcommittees to help develop u
eluding trade,
comma ~~ d.
munica ions, sd
,
re
ave
been sporadic clashes between Indian
and Pakistani forces along the cease.
fire line In Kashmir.
Costa Rica Is Holding Talks
With Nicaragua on Tensions
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Sept. 14
(UPI) - Costa Rican and Nicara
guan
officials are holding talks in France
aimed at settling border tensions
caused by rebels fighting-the Nicara_
guan Government, the - French and
Costa Rican Governments said today.
Neither the site of the meetin
g nor
A he names of those involved in the talks
were disclosed.
The Costa Rican Foreign Minister,
Carlos Jose Gutierrez, said in a state.
ment issued here that France offered a
month ago to act as an intermediary to
attempt to settle the border problems.
According to a report reaching here
from Paris, a spokesman for the
French Foreign Ministry said talks
were taking place in France between
Nicaragua and Costa Rica with a
French diplomat in attendance.
A1/ V 1-. e- (::w- //Z-
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5
Iq
Next 25 Page(s) In Document Denied
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2009/11/04: CIA-RDP87B00342R000400890002-5