How the ISI misleads Indian investigators

As India continues to fight against terror, terrorist outfits have found a new way to keep investigating agencies at bay.

Misguiding the investigating agency seems to be the latest trick up their sleeve.

The arrest of Dawood Ibrahim and his men, then Abu Hamza and now the killing of Hyderabad terror mastermind Shahid Bilal.

Intelligence Bureau sources told rediff.com that none of the above incidents had actually taken place and that this was the latest ploy of the Inter Services Intelligence to mislead Indian investigators.

A senior police officer said such stories are just campaigns by terror outfits to misguide investigating agencies.

"How many times have you heard of Osama Bin Laden being dead," the officer asked.

This new ploy by terror outfits and the ISI is becoming a headache for investigating agencies.

When such news breaks out, the entire process is thrown out of gear and a lot of time is spent in confirming the news.

The IB said that floating such rumours works well for the ISI.

Not only do they give an impression that they are dealing strongly with terror, but it also eases international pressure on them to act.

The IB said they have informed all those involved in investigating cases pertaining to terror not to take such news seriously and go about their investigation in a routine manner.

The IB said it is in constant touch with its informal sources both in Pakistan and Bangladesh for information about terrorists wanted in India.

Regarding Shahid Bilal, the IB said he may not be dead after all.

Bilal is a star in his circles and has shown good results for terror outfits. Hence, knocking him off will make no sense and it would be a loss to them instead.