WikiLeaks cables may prod CBI to restart probe into L N Mishra assassination

The sect,based on the philosophy propounded by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar also called Shri Shri Anandamurti,was said to be part of several other sensational crimes. In March 1975,the members of the group were reportedly charged for trying to assassinate former Chief Justice of India A N Ray. Later in 1995,they were also blamed for the dropping arms in Purulia,West Bengal.

What apparently worried the US the most was the statement of the then Minister of State for Home,Om Mehta,told Parliament in August 1975 about the arrest of four Anand Marg members in connection with the life attempt on Ray.

“He held that GOI investigators have uncovered “some link” between the Ray’s incident and the January assassination of Minister L N Mishra. Mehta said that one of Ray’s assailants,Ranjan Dwivedi,a lawyer in SC is married to a US citizen. The US wife of the detained person is also a marg member. She returned to the US on July 11. The Leftist press has already begun to use Mehta’s revelation to malign the US,” reads the cable.

After this disclosure,the cables described the sect as a “hot potato” for the US. “…Dwivedi is not a US citizen. We are,therefore,responding to Ms Dwivedi’s request by stating that we will be unable to pursue inquiries into her husband’s situation on her behalf…,” said a US communication.

It was widely believed that Anand Marg carried out violent attacks to protest the incarceration of its several leaders including Sarkar. The WikiLeaks cables say,“Murti was charged for killing seven of his followers and later he went on semi-fast demanding appointment of judicial commission to enquire into the incident… It is most likely that Indian government will grant his demands.”

In cables titled “Anand Marg update” dated March 19,1975,it was reported that the GOI has alleged a “cult of violence” by Anand Marg,including “the assassination of L N Mishra,which was generated by Anand Marg in conjunction with the RSS and the J P Narayan Movement”.

The cables also talk about the visit of a US national and a US representative of the Anand Marg,Craig Runde,to India to meet Murti in a Patna jail.

During Emergency,George Fernandes sought CIA aid

George Fernandes,one of the prominent anti-American voices,had sought funding from the Central Intelligence Agency during the days of Emergency,the latest US diplomatic cables released by the Wikileaks have revealed.

A US embassy cable in November 1975 said that “he was even now prepared to accept money from the CIA.” Fernandes made this request for funding during a meeting with the French Labour Attaché Manfred Turlach on or around November 1,1975.

Fernandes initially asked Turlach for help from the French government. When refused,he asked Turlach if he could suggest CIA contacts. Turlach told him he knew none.

The cable,sent on November 28,1975,from the New Delhi Embassy to the State Department in Washington,notes that on November 8 a certain “Miss Gita” (quotes from the original text) had approached the US Labour Counsellor seeking to arrange a meeting between Fernandes and the US Ambassador. “She was told that there was absolutely no possibility for a meeting,” the cables said.

During the meeting with Turlach,Fernandes had claimed there were about 300 people with him engaged in sabotage activities and that they had “already blown up two railway bridges in the south and a bridge between Bombay and Poona”.

He also claimed his group set fire to the docks in Bombay (Mumbai) and that the Naxalites,with whom his group was working,had set fire to the LIC building in Madras (Chennai) in July,1975. The Americans were sceptical about these claims is evident from a later cable which says,“George Fernandes has previously bragged to a western diplomat that he and his group…were responsible for explosions on the rail lines”.

Turlach told the Americans that “Fernandes is moving about with a great deal of secrecy”. The meeting with Turlach was at Fernandes’ request,set up by an intermediary who “would not normally be identified with opposition activities or associated with Fernandes,as he is a former management official”. ENS