The agencies help or even force a mole to escape only when that mole is part
of a spy ring operated by them and they are worried that his arrest and
interrogation might expose other moles, probably doing more important work.
The KGB went to extraordinary lengths to help Philby escape to the then USSR
because he was aware of the identities of other KGB moles in British
intelligence. The Russian intelligence did not help Ames escape because he
was not part of a ring.
The fact that the CIA went to extraordinary lengths to help or probably even
force Rabinder Singh to escape clearly indicated that he was part of a ring
and that the CIA wanted him to escape so that the identities of other CIA
moles in Indian intelligence were not exposed.
The case of Rabinder Singh was much, much more important and ominous than
any other instance of CIA penetration of R&AW, the Intelligence Bureau and
the National Security Council Secretariat. Singh was a mediocre officer who
did not have much access to sensitive intelligence. But he was a very good
networker who entertained lavishly and maintained excellent relations with
other R&AW officers, who had access to much more sensitive intelligence
which would have been of use to the CIA.
The suspicion was that he helped the CIA not by giving sensitive
intelligence, but by giving introductions to other officers, who had access
to it. He was what in intelligence parlance is called a talent spotter par
excellence, someone who helped the CIA recruit other moles. That is what
Philby used to do for the KGB.
Singh's escape was a very serious breach of security, the like of which had
not happened in the history of Indian intelligence. Philby's case was
thoroughly investigated by the British government and the House of Commons
informed of the results of the enquiry. There was a detailed US
Congressional enquiry into the Ames case and the voluminous Congressional
report on the enquiry is available to the American public.
The Manmohan Singh government asked P K Hormis Tharakan, the R&AW chief from
2005 to 2007, to look into the Singh case and submit his findings. Tharakan
interviewed senior R&AW officers, serving as well as retired, under whom
Singh had worked, but his report has remained confined to the archives of
R&AW and the Prime Minister's Office.
A retired senior R&AW officer told India Abroad, "Only the Indian-American
community can help find Rabinder Singh in the US. I have no hope because
even if Indian Americans meet him at parties or ethnic events he must have a
different identity, a new passport and some facade of a business address.
How will they recognise him? I think it's a hopeless case. The Indian
government will have to live with the shame called Rabinder Singh."
Image: An undated portrait of Kim Philby. Just as the KGB went to extraordinary lengths to help Philby escape to the then USSR, the CIA ensured that Rabinder Singh was flown out before he could be apprehended so that its secrets were safe.
Photograph: AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: The forgotten spy
