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Spy ring cloud on Brigs, Major Gen

pioneer.com

Pioneer News Service | New Delhi

Expanding the scope of their investigation into the suspected spy ring, following the hacking of a Major’s computer, a joint team of National Investigation Agency (NIA), Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau are now scanning the role of some senior Army officers, including two Brigadiers and a Major General.



Sources said these officials of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) could be questioned by the agencies in the next few days. The main focus of the probe was to find out if they were part of the espionage network and how a Major, a relatively junior officer, could get access to the sensitive information much beyond his official purview.



Alarm bells started ringing when the detailed analysis of the Major’s personal computer by the Hyderabad-based Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) indicated that the officer had more than 2,000 files, many of them pertaining to deployment and contingency plans of the Indian Army. The investigators now wanted to know as to how a junior officer got access to such information and if there was an espionage ring at work, sources said here on Monday.



The probe agencies feel that the Major was acting in cahoots with other Army officers since sensitive filed were deleted from his computer hard disc after the machine was seized. The laboratory analysis pointed out that files were deleted after the machine was sealed and reportedly placed in the safe custody of the Army before it was sent to Hyderabad, sources said. The Army, however, maintained that the safe custody was joint responsibility of the NIA and Military Intelligence and it had no knowledge about deletions.



The probe agencies have found that the computer was accessed many times from a proxy server based in Pakistan and one more country, it, sources said. They said other server could also be based in Pakistan but the proxy server addresses had hopped through various internet gateways of European countries.



[color="#FF0000"]The case came to light when the US intelligence agencies tipped off their Indian counterparts two months ago that the ISI had got hold of some sensitive data pertaining to the Indian Army. The trail then led to the Andaman-based Bihar Regiment Major who, so far, maintained, that his computer was hacked.[/color] He reportedly admitted that he was an inquisitive person but did not know as to how sensitive information was parked in his personal computer.



Andaman and Nicobar deployment is part of the tri-service command where all the three Services work as one unit under the overall command of the IDS. The tri-service command and the IDS were set up following the recommendations of the Kargil Review Committee report and recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM).



Meanwhile, reports indicated that the security agencies found that the Major’s computer and emails were remotely accessed from a server located in Pakistan. The probe also indicated that the National Investigating Agency and Military Intelligence officials were responsible for not taking care of the computer after it was seized and certain files and mails were deleted on a particular date.