Secret letter blasts Raje govt, state intelligence

STATE, CENTRE BOTH TO BLAME: UPA and Rajasthan government are at loggerheads, prolonging and bungling the probe.

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• A month since Jaipur blasts, life moves on
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Keywords: Centre, State Intelligence Bureau

New Delhi: On May 13, 2008, serial blasts rocked Jaipur, staining the Pink City red with blood. Sixty-six people died in the attack and another 250 were badly injured.

Post the attack, when the authorities — caught completely unawares — swung into action, a defensive Chief Minister was busy blaming the Centre.

Vasundhra Raje accused the Centre of not providing the state with intelligence inputs on a possible terror attack.

However, a confidential letter — in CNN-IBN's possession — shows that not just the Centre, but even the state was lax in its preparation to fight terror.

The 'secret' internal circular sent by the state government on May 16 to all Superintendents of Police and District Magistrates talks about the state's intelligence set up.

The letter reads: "The effectiveness of nodal officers put in place by the State special branch leaves much to be desired."

The nodal officers are responsible for providing primary intelligence, but that's not all. The state's own machinery is to blame for not being able to identify illegal Bangladeshi migrants.

The circular says: "Some District Magistrates have reported nil or very few Bangladeshi nationals which prima facie appears misleading and inaccurate, and as such, these inaccurate reports need to be reviewed with the utmost seriousness. The lack of progress and ineffectiveness in identifying and deportation of Bangladeshi migrants has been viewed very seriously by the state government and action may therefore be vigorously initiated."

Accused of dragging its feet on the illegal migrant issue, the Centre disowns its responsibility.

Union Home Minister, Shivraj Patil said, "The state government has the powers to deport illegal migrants. They do not need the Centre for such minor issues. Maybe Vasundhara Raje doesn't know."

The state government is now in an overdrive mode, verifying Bangladeshi migrant with the aim of deporting them.

The state has all of 30 days to complete the verification drive of Bangladeshi nationals, but with a lax state machinery and a government at loggerheads with the Centre, this latest directive might just turn out to be like the Jaipur blasts probe.