On the night of 8 February 1998, members of the Arakan Army led by Khaing Raza started their journey from the Thai-Myanmar border in boats with arms.
As per media reports, the boats were to stop at Andaman and Nicobar’s Landfall Island and then proceed to Cox Bazar in Bangladesh. The arms were to be sent to their comrades in Burma from Bangladesh. However, the Indian Army reportedly believed that the arms were meant for insurgents in Northeastern states.
On 9 February, the rebels stopped at the Narcondum Island in Andaman and resumed their journey towards Landfall Island on 10 February after they were told that Saw Tun, a leader of the Arakan Army, was in touch with the Indian Army officers.
While the men were treated well at the Landfall Island, on 11 February, the rebels claimed that their leaders were taken into a jungle on the pretext of meeting an Indian leader but they never returned. Those arrested have alleged that the rebels who were taken to the jungle were shot dead while the others were arrested.
Military Intelligence Officer Accused of Backstabbing
Though these rebels blamed Col VS Grewal for backstabbing them, the retired army officer told The Quint that the operation was not carried out by the Army on its own. Grewal argues that it was after approval from the Government of India that the operation was launched.
“The Burmese government approached the Indian government and it was a government to government request.” Col (retd) VS Grewal told The Quint
He said that the Government of India’s letter was issued for the operation that was code-named ‘Leech’.
By 1995, New Delhi had officially started working on building a good relationship with the military regime in Myanmar. However, the military in Myanmar accused the then defence minister being in cahoots with the rebels in 1998. According to reports, the tri-services were specifically told not to take any action regarding arms movement in mid-1998. Former intelligence officer DB Nandi had told The Guardian in 2007, “This whole thing was designed to smash the revolt of the Arakanese. These people were not prejudicial to the security interests of India. But they were butchered and imprisoned.”
On 9 February, the rebels stopped at the Narcondum Island in Andaman and resumed their journey towards Landfall Island on 10 February after they were told that Saw Tun, a leader of the Arakan Army, was in touch with the Indian Army officers.
While the men were treated well at the Landfall Island, on 11 February, the rebels claimed that their leaders were taken into a jungle on the pretext of meeting an Indian leader but they never returned. Those arrested have alleged that the rebels who were taken to the jungle were shot dead while the others were arrested.
Military Intelligence Officer Accused of Backstabbing
Though these rebels blamed Col VS Grewal for backstabbing them, the retired army officer told The Quint that the operation was not carried out by the Army on its own. Grewal argues that it was after approval from the Government of India that the operation was launched.
“The Burmese government approached the Indian government and it was a government to government request.” Col (retd) VS Grewal told The Quint
He said that the Government of India’s letter was issued for the operation that was code-named ‘Leech’.
By 1995, New Delhi had officially started working on building a good relationship with the military regime in Myanmar. However, the military in Myanmar accused the then defence minister being in cahoots with the rebels in 1998. According to reports, the tri-services were specifically told not to take any action regarding arms movement in mid-1998. Former intelligence officer DB Nandi had told The Guardian in 2007, “This whole thing was designed to smash the revolt of the Arakanese. These people were not prejudicial to the security interests of India. But they were butchered and imprisoned.”
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