Day after IB alert of possible terror attacks, ISI agent arrested in Odisha

The worst security nightmare has come true. A day after the Intelligence Bureau (IB) sounded an alert about a possible terror strike in four states, including Odisha, by Pakistan based jihadi groups, a cameraperson employed with the Interim Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur in Balasore district has been arrested on charges of passing on sensitive information about missile tests to Pakistani spy agency ISI.

The man, identified as Ishwar Chandra Behera, was working as a cameraperson in ITR on contractual basis since 2007 and had been engaged in espionage activities for the past 8-10 months, Eastern Range IG Asit Panigrahi revealed on Friday.

Representational image. AFP

Two computer hard disks, two mobile handsets and a bank passbook have been seized from his possession, the IG said.

Sources in the police said Behera had been put under surveillance for a week after intelligence inputs about his seemingly suspicious activities. He was taken into custody and formally arrested today.

"A case has been registered against him at the Chandipur police station under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 121 A (treason). He will be produced in the court today. We will seek to take him on 14-day remand for further interrogation,” Panigrahi said on Thursday.

It is not clear as yet if he was acting as a lone ranger or had others working with him, he added. While it is difficult to foretell what further interrogation may reveal, the information that has already been ferreted out of him during the questioning since yesterday is nothing short of scary.

Behera, the IG revealed, had been passing on advance information about missile tests and deployment to his ISI handler, who is apparently based in Kolkata.

Perusal of his call records have revealed that he was in constant touch with several people, including his Kolkata based handler, some of whom were based outside the country. Besides, he frequently met his handler in person in Kolkata during his trips to the city on the pretext of getting cameras and other equipment repaired.

Scrutiny of his bank account at the Chandipur branch of SBI has revealed that money had been transferred to his account frequently through internet banking and money orders from places as far off as Mumbai, Meerut, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Abu Dhabi.

The ITR in Chandipur is easily the most important installation — and perhaps the most vulnerable too — given the lax coastal security in the state. While metropolis like Mumbai and New Delhi, which have already faced multiple terror attacks, have upgraded their security preparedness considerably, Odisha has a long way to go. What makes it particularly vulnerable is its 480-km long coast line on which foreign fishing trawlers have a virtual free run.

Illegal Bangalsdeshi immigrants, who have settled all along the coast with patronage from politicians, are another possible source of danger for the coastal state.

The 18 marine police stations set up along the coast are grossly short of manpower and equipment and hardly inspire confidence.

The there is the famous Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, which witnesses thousands of people on a daily basis and lakhs during the annual Rath Yatra, making it a terrorist’s delight.

The preparedness of the state police can be gauged by the fact that it had no inkling about two Indian Mujahideen (IM) operatives, who apparently did a recce of possible targets last year, staying in hotels in Bhubaneswar and Puri for over a week. Mercifully, they were arrested by central agencies before they could carry out any strike.