1 hr ago
Ajit Doval Recalls Sikkim Border Team’s Chinese Detention
Ajit Doval once worked as a young intelligence officer in Sikkim.
His job included watching the border and tracking the activities of the Chinese military.
One intelligence team went across the border and did not come back when expected.
Doval became very worried about what had happened to the people on the team.
He later learned they had been captured and questioned by Chinese forces.
The team was eventually returned, but its members were in very poor condition.
Doval thought the incident had ended his career.
An investigation later found that he was not responsible and that some maps and sketches had mistakes.
Ajit Doval recalled a border intelligence mission during his early career in Sikkim.
The team failed to return as scheduled, prompting fears that its members were dead or missing.
Doval was later told the team had been captured and interrogated by Chinese forces.
The team members were eventually returned after what Doval described as talks, negotiations, or a deal.
An inquiry found Doval was not at fault and identified defects in headquarters-provided maps and sketches.
- Who
- Ajit Doval and an Indian intelligence team operating in Sikkim.
- What
- A border intelligence team was captured and interrogated by Chinese forces after failing to return on schedule.
- Where
- The Sikkim-China border and nearby border areas.
- When
- During Doval’s early intelligence career, when he was in his twenties; he recounted the episode at an IIT Roorkee convocation.
- Why
- The team had been sent to collect intelligence about the movements and activities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
Key facts
- Speaker
- Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Adviser
- Assignment
- Doval was in charge of intelligence in Sikkim as a young Indian Police Service officer.
- Mission
- The team was collecting intelligence about Chinese military activity near the border.
- Delay
- The team was expected to return in about eight days but remained away for roughly 10 to 15 days.
- Detention
- Doval said the team was captured and interrogated by Chinese forces.
- Outcome
- The team members were returned after possible talks, negotiations, or a deal.
- Inquiry
- An investigation found Doval was not at fault and cited errors in maps and sketches from headquarters.
- Sikkim’s status
- Sikkim became India’s 22nd state in 1975.
Quotes
Doval’s headquarters boss
Doval’s unnamed superior at intelligence headquarters
“For me, it was a matter of very great concern, not only professionally but also on the human side, that so many people—we don't know whether they are dead or alive, and what has happened to them. We got no reports of any avalanche or anything. It was a matter of deep worry and concern.”
republicworld.com
“I was a young IPS officer, new to the intelligence profession. I was in my 20s, and I was posted as in charge of intelligence in Sikkim. That was not a part of India at that time. It was becoming part of India. I was part of that process where the merger was taking place.”
republicworld.com
NDTV
Sources
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