ISI eyes new frontier

VADODARA, June 13: The apprehension of six operatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence in Kutch, followed by the arrest of three hardco...

VADODARA, June 13: The apprehension of six operatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence in Kutch, followed by the arrest of three hardcore Punjab militants from a residential area in Vadodara yesterday, has led experts to conclude that the Pakistani agency is eyeing a new frontier in Gujarat.

While the militants arrested yesterday in Vadodara are still being interrogated, it has been established that they belong to the Babbar Khalsa. 8220;They could have been here for some task8221;, said senior Punjab Police officer J Jain, in Vadodara for the interrogation, while confirming their loyalties lay with the ISI-friendly outfit.

But the Vadodara arrests may just be the tip of the iceberg; according to sources, outfits like the Khalistan Zindabad Force, Punjwar faction, have also been asked to exploit the porous Gujarat border.

8220;The top leaders of the Sialkot-based Punjwar faction have been working out incessant strategies to make inroads into India via the Gujarat border. The entry of the Babbar Khalsa is thus an unnerving development8221;, said an officer of a Central intelligence agency.

Moreover, said sources in Central intelligence, both the operational ISI units at Sialkot and Karachi were coordinating the attempts of various terrorist outfits 8212; Khalistani and Kashmiri 8212; to breach the western coast of the country.

8220;In the Kutch explosives smuggling case, the arrested militants named Major Siddiqui, a senior ISI man, as the mastermind of the sneak-in8221;, pointed out Kutch Superintendent of Police A K Singh.

Admitting that the ISI focus was well on Gujarat, he said that while the frequency of infiltration through the Kutch border was not very high, it was indeed alarming given the situation along the Line of Control in the Kargil sector.

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Intelligence officials said that what had made the Gujarat borders even more strategic for the ISI was the State8217;s proximity to Mumbai, the commercial hub of the country. In the Vadodara case, meanwhile, the police are trying to determine the local contacts of the trio, as well as that of their host. 8220;We8217;re investigating if they were expecting a consignment of arms or if they8217;d managed to get some already8221;, said Additional Commissioner of Police, Vadodara, M K Tandon, while alleging that since the situation on the Kashmir border was volatile, the ISI was exploring other options and push in its men.

Meanwhile, in the Kutch district a massive screening exercise has been undertaken to detect more ISI-sympathisers in the border villages. Senior police officials said that it was imperative to flush out the local elements in the ISI network to prevent further infiltration bids.