KOCHI: There are numerous books, articles and films on covert operations of intelligence agencies -- such as MI6, CIA, KGB and, of course, India’s R&AW -- that generate a lot of heat. Back in 2012, Kerala witnessed one such sensational operation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Kochi unit, which prevented the leak of classified Military Intelligence (MI) files to Pakistan’s ISI.
The operation — which busted a Malayali mole in the military lasted for about six months, and it was one of the reasons for the disbanding of the MI’s covert Technical Support Division (TSD). Memories of the case are still fresh like yesterday, says former intelligence officer Sayeed Mohammad, who has worked with agencies such as the customs, DRI and the Enforcement Directorate. The hunt for a mole led to the arrest of Sivadasan, an Army havildar who assisted former TSD commanding offcer Col Hunny Bakshi in New Delhi.
“In 2011-2012, smuggling of Pakistan-made fake currency was high through airports including in Kerala. So we were monitoring people linked to currency rackets in Dubai,” recalls Sayeed, who was attached to the DRI at the time of the operation. “By the end of 2011 or early 2012, we received an informer input that an Indian was desperately looking for ISI agents in Dubai. Suspecting the possibility of a fake currency network, we pursued the lead.”
A DRI hunt in Dubai revealed that the person was a Malayali middleman looking to sell classified information related to national security. Soon, officers posing as ISI agents fixed a meeting.
“The guy was desperate to meet the Pakistani agents. So, we deployed two of our well-built officers, who could pass off as Pakistanis, and set up a meeting at a hotel in Mumbai,” says Sayeed, who retired as assistant director of ED and currently practises as a lawyer in Kochi.
“A few more meetings followed, and we managed to convince him we were ISI men. At one such meeting, we asked him to show some samples of what he had to offer, and he gave us a pen drive. His demands were money and a secure channel for further deals.”
Some files in the pen drive revealed that classified information was being leaked from MI. “They were top secret files. So we immediately alerted the MI. Subsequently, it was confirmed that the leak was from the covert TSD unit. With the assistance of MI, we identified the mole -- Havildar Sivadasan,” says Sayeed.
Next, DRI officers promised the middleman an advance payment for the classified files. “MI officers from New Delhi flew down to Kochi, and we took Sivadasan into custody from his house in
Thiruvananthapuram. He was from Pathanamthitta, but had settled in the capital city. MI officers took him to New Delhi and court-martial proceedings were initiated. We seized pen drives, hard discs and CDs containing classified data from his house,” he said.
Sayeed recalls Sivadasan was highly educated and well-versed in English. “So, he worked as the personal assistant of Col Bakshi, and managed access to sensitive files,” he says. Within one year, TSD was disbanded. Court-martial was initiated against Col Bakshi, too, but it was suspended a few years later.