July 18, 2007	Wednesday	Rajab 02, 1428

NEW DELHI, July 17: The elite Special Protection Group (SPG) guarding Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee when he was prime minister had erroneously bought an American communication device that could be read by Pakistan’s ISI spy agency, a book by a former Indian sleuth has claimed.

Maj. Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd) in his book India’s External Intelligence — Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing alleges that undetected encryption allowed foreign intelligence agencies, including the CIA and ISI, “to eavesdrop on the network and know the exact details of the Prime Minister’s movements and the security measures being taken to protect him.”

Maj. Gen. Singh explained that “the algorithms used by intelligence agencies are always indigenously customised for that particular agency. For security reasons, the Army will not use an algorithm being used by the Navy or the Air Force.

The job of a foreign company is only to provide us with radio systems and other accessories,” Maj. Gen. Singh told the Asian Age newspaper.

He was quoted on Tuesday as saying that although the equipment was worth only Rs200 million, it could seriously jeopardise the prime minister’s security.According to The Age the SPG has not taken kindly to this disclosure and its present chief is suspected to behind the attempt to ban his book. The present RAW chief is also peeved at the book because Maj. Gen. Singh has named officers who he felt were responsible for taking these decisions.