Bureaucratic delays have cost the two security agencies precious time in nabbing terrorists. The new arrangement will see the security agencies work together and share information in real time. Vicky Nanjappa reports
Homegrown terror is no more an internal problem, says an officer with the Intelligence Bureau. There are operatives who work inside India and then shuttle between countries which causes a hindrance in investigations as the IB deals with internal issues while the Research and Analysis Wing looks into external matters.
The IB and R&AW have to work closely when a terror operative decides to flee the country, as the case then overlaps both the agencies’ jurisdiction. It’s is similar to how the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Investigation Agency works in the US.
When there is an issue pertaining to terrorism it is the FBI which operates on American soil. The CIA comes into the picture when leads regarding an external threat begin to emerge.
The IB and R&AW will now work together from the same building at Lutyen's, the IB headquarters in New Delhi. This joint office will have the joint secretary operations of both the IB and the RAW. This would cut down the delay in investigations when an operative, after carrying out an attack in India, tries to get out of the country.
In the past, due to a time lag, terrorist like Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon, Riyaz Bhatkal among many others have managed to get out of the country.
In the past, the IB had to send a requisition to R&AW if an operative it had been tracking managed to flee the country. But by the time data and details had been passed on and the agency responded, the operative would have found a safe hideout.
But now since both the agencies will be working under one roof, terror operatives can be traced together and information can be shared in real time, said an IB official.
This new arrangement was recently tried out in the arrest of Indian Mujahideen cofounder Yasin Bhatkal and Patna blasts mastermind Tehsin Akhtar. It was a combined operation by both the agencies.
While the IB tracked the movements of these operatives within the country, the R&AW took over the moment they crossed the border.
It has worked out well for us and we are sure it will continue to be smooth, the officer said. This joint team will be in force officially from July.
