Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NEWDELHI507
2009-03-18 11:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:
PUNJAB, AN EXAMPLE OF STATE OPPOSITION TO INDIA'S
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000507
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PK IN
SUBJECT: PUNJAB, AN EXAMPLE OF STATE OPPOSITION TO INDIA'S
NEW NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY
REF: A. A. NEW DELHI 00405
B. B. NEW DELHI 00412
C. C. NEW DELHI 00420
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 000507
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PK IN
SUBJECT: PUNJAB, AN EXAMPLE OF STATE OPPOSITION TO INDIA'S
NEW NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY
REF: A. A. NEW DELHI 00405
B. B. NEW DELHI 00412
C. C. NEW DELHI 00420
1. (SBU) After the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, the
Indian government moved quickly to establish a National
Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate and prosecute
terrorism cases. The move stirred resistance from many
states which view ceding power to a national agency as an
infringement of states rights. In a recent visit to Punjab
to get a ground-level view, we found concerns about the new
counterterrorism structure. The Punjab police's confidence
in their ability to combat terrorism is one motivating factor
in their objection to the new agency. This opposition will
hamper the NIA's ability to successfully establish itself as
a premier terror fighting agency. The tension between the
states and the Center over NIA was evident when Indian Home
Minister P. Chidambaram and NIA director Radha Vinod Raju
queried FBI Director Robert Mueller recently (reftels) about
the FBI's experience in dealing with jurisdiction issues.
End summary.
Punjab Police Confident in CT Abilities
--------------
2. (U) Poloff traveled with noted criminal justice expert Dr.
David Bayley of the University of Albany-SUNY to Chandigarh,
Punjab to discuss reforms and administration with state
police officials. In a Q and A session following Dr.
Bayley's lecture, Director General of Police (DGP) N.P.S.
Aulakh was asked whether the counterterrorism (CT) function
should be transferred to the newly formed NIA since terrorism
is no longer a problem in Punjab. The DGP firmly opposed
such a proposal, explaining that the local police had been
successful in dealing with terrorism so they should retain
the primary CT function in Punjab. He said having police
"boots on the ground" provides an edge since they are better
able to gather local intelligence than national or regional
police.
3. (SBU) A noted Indian police expert agreed with this
assessment. Dr. Ajai Sahni, Director of Institute for
Conflict Management, also pointed to the Punjab police's
success in eradicating terrorism as a good example of how
India's police forces can combat terrorism more effectively
than a national security force. He cited this example to
support his assessment that CT should be handled at the local
level and not be transferred to a national agency.
4. (U) Local police officials expressed concerns about crime,
but were sanguine about the unlikelihood of a revival of
terrorism that plagued Punjab in the past. Dr. Navinder
Bhargav, Deputy Director of General Administration at the
Punjab Police Academy in Phillaur, said the Punjab police are
more concerned about crime by seasonal workers from other
states who evade arrest because they are not registered with
the Punjab administration. On Sikh extremism, Bhargav
explained that the Punjab police eradicated terrorism from
Punjab in the 1990s. He noted that former extremists were
drawn from the unemployed youth, but the better economic
situation in the state today has dampened the interest of
youth in such destructive activities. In his view, Punjab
witnessed a strong economic downturn and instability during
the days of militancy and its people do not support a return
to those dark days. Inspector General of Police Pajag Jain
expressed similar sentiments, adding that the Punjabi
farmers, from whose ranks many of the disaffected youths were
recruited, are more interested in tilling their fields than
joining extremist groups today.
Comment
--------------
6. (SBU) Punjab is only one of many states that object to the
NIA. States with past CT experience and successes believe
they have a legitimate platform to argue for their continued
NEW DELHI 00000507 002 OF 002
primacy in terror related investigations. States less
experienced in CT also object to the NIA on the grounds that
a national agency infringes on their rights since the Indian
constitution delegates responsibility for law and order to
the states rather than to Delhi. The creation of the NIA was
one of several GOI initiatives designed to strengthen India's
terror fighting capacity after the Mumbai terror attacks.
Opposition will inhibit the GOI's ability to stand up a
central law enforcement agency that is the principal
investigative agency for terror related attacks.
WHITE
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PK IN
SUBJECT: PUNJAB, AN EXAMPLE OF STATE OPPOSITION TO INDIA'S
NEW NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY
REF: A. A. NEW DELHI 00405
B. B. NEW DELHI 00412
C. C. NEW DELHI 00420
1. (SBU) After the Mumbai attacks in November 2008, the
Indian government moved quickly to establish a National
Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate and prosecute
terrorism cases. The move stirred resistance from many
states which view ceding power to a national agency as an
infringement of states rights. In a recent visit to Punjab
to get a ground-level view, we found concerns about the new
counterterrorism structure. The Punjab police's confidence
in their ability to combat terrorism is one motivating factor
in their objection to the new agency. This opposition will
hamper the NIA's ability to successfully establish itself as
a premier terror fighting agency. The tension between the
states and the Center over NIA was evident when Indian Home
Minister P. Chidambaram and NIA director Radha Vinod Raju
queried FBI Director Robert Mueller recently (reftels) about
the FBI's experience in dealing with jurisdiction issues.
End summary.
Punjab Police Confident in CT Abilities
--------------
2. (U) Poloff traveled with noted criminal justice expert Dr.
David Bayley of the University of Albany-SUNY to Chandigarh,
Punjab to discuss reforms and administration with state
police officials. In a Q and A session following Dr.
Bayley's lecture, Director General of Police (DGP) N.P.S.
Aulakh was asked whether the counterterrorism (CT) function
should be transferred to the newly formed NIA since terrorism
is no longer a problem in Punjab. The DGP firmly opposed
such a proposal, explaining that the local police had been
successful in dealing with terrorism so they should retain
the primary CT function in Punjab. He said having police
"boots on the ground" provides an edge since they are better
able to gather local intelligence than national or regional
police.
3. (SBU) A noted Indian police expert agreed with this
assessment. Dr. Ajai Sahni, Director of Institute for
Conflict Management, also pointed to the Punjab police's
success in eradicating terrorism as a good example of how
India's police forces can combat terrorism more effectively
than a national security force. He cited this example to
support his assessment that CT should be handled at the local
level and not be transferred to a national agency.
4. (U) Local police officials expressed concerns about crime,
but were sanguine about the unlikelihood of a revival of
terrorism that plagued Punjab in the past. Dr. Navinder
Bhargav, Deputy Director of General Administration at the
Punjab Police Academy in Phillaur, said the Punjab police are
more concerned about crime by seasonal workers from other
states who evade arrest because they are not registered with
the Punjab administration. On Sikh extremism, Bhargav
explained that the Punjab police eradicated terrorism from
Punjab in the 1990s. He noted that former extremists were
drawn from the unemployed youth, but the better economic
situation in the state today has dampened the interest of
youth in such destructive activities. In his view, Punjab
witnessed a strong economic downturn and instability during
the days of militancy and its people do not support a return
to those dark days. Inspector General of Police Pajag Jain
expressed similar sentiments, adding that the Punjabi
farmers, from whose ranks many of the disaffected youths were
recruited, are more interested in tilling their fields than
joining extremist groups today.
Comment
--------------
6. (SBU) Punjab is only one of many states that object to the
NIA. States with past CT experience and successes believe
they have a legitimate platform to argue for their continued
NEW DELHI 00000507 002 OF 002
primacy in terror related investigations. States less
experienced in CT also object to the NIA on the grounds that
a national agency infringes on their rights since the Indian
constitution delegates responsibility for law and order to
the states rather than to Delhi. The creation of the NIA was
one of several GOI initiatives designed to strengthen India's
terror fighting capacity after the Mumbai terror attacks.
Opposition will inhibit the GOI's ability to stand up a
central law enforcement agency that is the principal
investigative agency for terror related attacks.
WHITE