Decoding the Samba spy scandal:false spies, counterintelligence and military intelligence in India

ABSTRACT This article explores the Samba spy scandal to understand Indian counterintelligence and inter-agency intelligence coordination. The scandal publicly emerged in 1979 when dozens of Indian military intelligence officers were arrested for being Pakistani spies. The article examines the accused men’s confessions of selling information to Pakistan’s Field Intelligence Unit and how later they said the admissions were false and provided under torture. Then it describes senior intelligence and military leaders airing their suspicions that the men were innocent as well as a significant statement from a Pakistani spy a decade later. However, a 2014 Supreme Court ruling officially ‘stamped’ the men spies without any hope for clearing their names. The article analyses primary sources, interviews, news articles and court rulings, concluding that the scandal reveals poor Indian military counterintelligence and a lack of inter-agency cooperation.