Indian spies expelled for defence tech theft bids
Australia expelled two Indian intelligence agents in 2020 after they were caught trying to steal sensitive defence technology and infiltrate police and airport security systems.
Australia expelled two Indian intelligence agents in 2020 after they were caught trying to steal sensitive defence technology and infiltrate police and airport security systems.
The operatives were part of a “nest of spies” referred to by ASIO director-general Mike Burgess in his 2021 annual threat assessment, without revealing they were Indian operatives.
The revelation, in the Washington Post, comes as Australia looks to bolster relations with India’s Modi government to counter rising Chinese influence across the region.
The Post revealed the expulsions as part of its major report on the activities of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, targeting members of the Khalistan Sikh separatist movement.
Mr Burgess said in his 2021 speech that the operatives had developed relationships with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy and state police, and had monitored members of their country’s diaspora. “They asked a public servant to provide information on security protocols at a major airport,” he said.
“They successfully cultivated and recruited an Australian government security clearance holder who had access to sensitive details of defence technology.”
Mr Burgess, who said the spies were “not from a country in our region”, argued that revealing the country of origin would have been “an unnecessary distraction”.
“My focus is on detecting harm and dealing with it – professionally and privately, wherever possible, just as we did in the instance I’ve described,” he said in the threat assessment.
The Post report accused Indian RAW official Vikram Yadav of allegedly planning the assassination of prominent Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.
A key figure in the Khalistan separatist movement, Mr Pannun is legal counsel for the Sikhs for Justice organisation, which advocates for the creation of a separate Sikh state.
The plot in the US coincided with the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, which has also been linked to Mr Yadav, the Post reported.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the activities of “separatist elements” in Australia during his state visit last year. “We will not accept any elements that harm the friendly and warm ties between India and Australia by their actions or thoughts,” Mr Modi said during the trip.
“Prime Minister (Anthony) Albanese has once again assured me he will take strict actions against such elements in the future.”
Indian officials have also warned Australian counterparts over the rise of the Khalistan movement, which the country has proscribed as a terrorist organisation, citing “communal disharmony and possible law and order problems”.
“Many of them (Khalistan supporters) have found shelter in overseas countries, particularly the USA and Canada, and then direct activities from these places all over the world,” one told The Australian.
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