ISI shifts target to Indian Railways to spread mass panic ahead of I-Day

New Delhi: The Indian Railways has become the primary target for the Inter-Services Intelligence-backed elements in recent months, according to an intelligence report.

While the railways have long been a favourite target of terrorists, recent developments suggest a more sinister game plan. The terror plots that have been foiled and the intelligence inputs gathered by security agencies point towards a concerted attempt to target the railway network.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the ISI has focused its espionage activities largely on the military and railways.

Most of the spies reportedly deployed for the India operations have specific briefs to gather as much information as possible on both the Indian Army and railways.

Indian security agencies have now noticed a significant change in the pattern. The information being sought by these elements about the railway network is currently greater than that concerning military installations. In the case of the armed forces, the ISI appears to be pursuing a long-term strategy. It is seeking to gather as much information as possible, rather than with an immediate intention of targeting military establishments.

This is a more tactical exercise, aimed at ensuring that the Pakistani Army maintains an informational advantage over the Indian armed forces.

The information being gathered relates to logistics and movement of the troops. However, when it comes to the railways, the primary intention is to carry out terror attacks. The Pakistani spy agency knows that the railways is the lifeline of India and disrupting this sector means spreading widespread panic and fear in the minds of the people.

An official said that there is a mixed strategy with regard to the railways.

“While in many cases, the idea is to gather information so that a strike can be carried out, the ISI is also attempting to play mind games. It is not necessary that the ISI-backed terrorists need to strike this sector all the time. Even a hoax alarm when it comes to the Indian railways is sufficient to create panic in the minds of the people,” the official said.

Another official said that some individuals have been recruited specifically to make hoax calls.

“If a hoax call or false information is circulated at a crowded railway station, it could trigger panic and eventually lead to a major stampede, resulting in loss of several lives,” the official added.

Officials said the ISI has not limited its directives to Islamist outfits to target railway stations. It has also instructed cadres of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) to carry out similar attacks, indicating a broader effort to exploit multiple terror networks for targeting the railway infrastructure.

While the brief for the BKI is to strike at railway stations in Punjab and Haryana, in the case of the rest of the outfits the focus is on Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities. The ISI has allegedly been working on its railways plan for the last year.

In fact, surveillance of the railway sector has increased ten-fold over the past year. The Pakistani spy agency has stepped up recruitment as part of its efforts to target railway infrastructure. In the first phase of the operation, the recruits moved around railway stations, photographed key areas, assessed security arrangements and passed the information to their handlers.

Investigations have revealed that some of these recruits were willing to carry out the assignments for as little as Rs 3,000. The ISI later escalated its surveillance efforts by instructing recruits to install solar-powered closed-circuit television cameras at railway stations. These cameras enabled them to obtain live feeds of activity at the stations. Recent investigations have shown that recruits involved in installing the cameras were paid between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for each camera.

Meanwhile, the Intelligence Bureau has issued a high alert and said that the ISI-backed modules would try to target railway infrastructure in Delhi and the surrounding areas. Security is already tight ahead of India’s Independence Day owing to the multiple threat assessments by the agencies.

The terror groups would look to carry out a major hit on railway infrastructure during this period as the security mechanism would be more focused on guarding the Independence Day events in Delhi, the officials say.