It is still not clear at whose behest Operation Leech was undertaken, though government and military headquarters officially maintain it was their own.
The twists and turns of the past decade linked to Operation Leech are as mysterious as the military operation on the Andaman islands in February 1998, when six Burmese rebels were shot dead and 73 captured for allegedly occupying an Indian island for gun-running activities.
The latest is the acquittal a few days ago of KC Suresh Kumar — he headed the Intelligence Bureau team in Port Blair that recommended a CBI inquiry into the operation — in the murder of T Vasantha. The lawyer, who had represented the rebels from the National Unity Party of Arakans (Nupa) after they were arrested in the operation, was found murdered on December 1, 2003.
Nupa has been fighting the Burmese military junta, and may have received tactical support from Indian intelligence until Operation Leech. It alleges betrayal by Indian agencies, but many in the security set-up here believe the army officer who carried out the operation may have double-crossed India and worked for the Burmese military rulers.
It is still not clear at whose behest Operation Leech was undertaken, though government and military headquarters officially maintain it was their own. The colonel who led the operation is now a leading agent of Burmese precious stones and has a pad in Rangoon. He enjoys the hospitality of the Burmese military junta post retirement.
“A combined service operation (Operation Leech) was undertaken in February 1998 to intercept arms deliveries meant for Indian insurgent groups in the northeast. In this operation, 73 foreign nationals were apprehended and 138 weapons recovered,” Suresh Kumar told parliament later.
After two years in an Andaman jail, he has returned to New Delhi, and reported last week to the CISF, where he is a commandant. Kumar, who was picked up in March 2007 from Kochi Airport where he was head of security, is cautious not to discuss the bizarre turns of his life. He just hopes to be back to normal life with his family.
AK Sahay, the CBI officer who indicted Kumar for the murder, was, meanwhile, arrested in Kolkata a few days ago by his own agency for corruption.
If Kumar’s incarnation and acquittal are Kafkaesque, the plight of the 34 Burmese rebels at Presidency Jail, Kolkata, is an appalling tale of human rights violation. This February, the 34 will complete 10 years in prison.
Under the directives of the supreme court, a trial is now finally under way in Kolkata to decide their fate. “The trial will be over in a few months. But even if they are acquitted, they will stay in jail because they don’t have travel documents. Or they will be deported to Burma, where they will be killed (by the military junta),” an activist working for their acquittal says.
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