dna exclusive: Unusual activity in R&AW

A scandal rocked India’s external intelligence agency R&AW when it recently asked two middle-level officers to quit.

While the agency maintains that one officer was asked to go on disciplinary grounds, the other sought voluntary retirement, others maintain that there were asked to go as they were in an “illicit relationship”.

Though senior officials are tight-lipped, it is learnt that the female officer has decided to put in her papers and the man will be immediately repatriated to his parent cadre.

The incident came to light last week when the agency’s counter-intelligence wing spotted “unusual activity” between the two officers. While the woman is from the language division of the R&AW, the male officer is from the DANICS (Delhi Andaman Nicobar Services) cadre.

He last served in the Delhi government as a sub-divisional magistrate before seeking a deputation in the R&AW.

The woman was under watch as part of the counter intelligence wing’s “routine sweep” as she was supposed to go abroad soon. She had been earmarked for a sensitive posting and was put under the scanner as part of a regular drill.

The counter intelligence wing reported a “suspicious” liaison between the two officers who were found to be spending a lot of time together beyond the official hours. It also raised suspicions because they were not supposed to be working together in the first place.

Traumatised by the defection of a joint secretary, Rabinder Singh, to the United States a few years ago, the R&AW has put a sharper focus on internal security protocols. Noticing this “unusual pattern” of behaviour, the counter intelligence wing immediately alerted their superiors.

R&AW chief Alok Joshi has been trying to clean up the agency, hit by several scandals.

Earlier this year, he terminated a senior officer from service as he was suspected of having made money by illegally extending the new building. R&AW sources told dna that Joshi was also upset at the male officer’s “unprofessional behaviour”.

“He was supposed to be posted outside Delhi, but he refused. He demanded that he be allowed to continue in Delhi and not be posted out,” a senior officer said. “This was not acceptable because every officer has to do a field posting when their turn comes. The secretary (Joshi) was obviously upset at this unprofessional behaviour.”

The woman too was unhappy with her foreign posting. She argued that she did not want to leave behind her family in Delhi. Finally it was decided that she would be “encouraged” to take voluntary retirement from service while the male officer would be sent back to his parent cadre.

Official sources, however, rejected the contention that the two officers were in a relationship. Since the woman’s husband was posted in an agency working for the UN, she found it difficult to go abroad on posting, a source said. “Therefore she decided to opt for voluntary retirement.”

From the past...
R&AW was rocked by a major scandal several years ago when two officers were repatriated to their cadres on similar grounds.

An Odisha-cadre IPS officer was sent back when he was suspected of having an affair with a female officer. The other officer who was with the Customs was sent back on allegations of sexual harassment.