The Centre has refused to give details of rules and regulations regarding the extent of legal protection that is provided to officers and employees of the Research and Analysis Wing abroad.
The Centre has refused to give details of rules and regulations regarding the extent of legal protection that is provided to officers and employees of the Research and Analysis Wing abroad. The Cabinet Secretariat has refused to give these details under the Right to Information Act saying the Research and Analysis Wing, which functions under it, is exempted from any disclosures under the law except in relation to allegations of human rights violations and corruption. The issue becomes important in the light of Pakistan’s allegations that they have arrested an alleged RAW spy, but India has already refuted the claims saying the arrested person has no links with the Indian government.
“There is no information in the public domain about what must be done if, heaven forbid, an Indian intelligence operative is murdered abroad... This is a concern that is very much valid even though it must not be taken as a comment on the latest incident of the apprehension of an Indian national in Pakistan,” RTI applicant Venkatesh Nayak was quoted as telling news agency PTI.
Nayak categorically said in his RTI application that he was not seeking details of the manner in which its officers involved in overseas intelligence operations are trained to protect themselves against legal or illegal action by law enforcement agencies in foreign countries.
“The purpose of including this clarification was to reassure them that I was not seeking information that would expose the training and other measures that India’s RAW officers and other intelligence operatives are instructed to undertake to protect themselves as such disclosure would most likely endanger them and would not be in public interest at this stage,” Nayak, who is with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, was quoted as saying.
