‘India Botched Up Operation Purulia’

Peter Bleach breaks his long silence on the arms drop story. The official account has it otherwise.

On the night of 17 December 1995, a Latvian aircraft dropped a consignment of arms, including several hundred AK-47 rifles and more than a million rounds of ammunition, over a large area in Purulia district. The Indian Government claimed that the plane was intercepted by an Indian Air Force Mig-21 and forced to land in Mumbai. A British citizen and former Special Air Service Operative Peter Bleach was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was released in February 2004. The five-member Russian crew was arrested and released in 2000. Niels Christian Nielson aka Kim Davy, a key operative who had arranged the drop, escaped and was traced by the Denmark authorities only in 2007. Extradition proceedings are currently going on, with India trying to get him here for questioning. Just this month, both Davy and Bleach insisted that the Indian authorities knew of the arms drop well in advance, and that the arms were meant for use by the Ananda Margis to destabilise the West Bengal government. The entire incident was shrouded in secrecy at the time, with several questions remaining unanswered. Breaking his long silence, Peter Bleach, in his first interview to the Indian print media, gives his version of the arms drop, which contradicts the official account of the incident. Seema Mustafa interviewed him over Skype. Excerpts

Q Who first contacted you about the 1995 arms drop?

A Well, the person who first contacted me is a German businessman I knew. He was a supplier of light aircraft and telephoned me to say that a Danish colleague was having difficulty in putting a deal together and I might be able to help him. The result is that I was asked to give a quote for the supply of AK-47 rifles and ammunitions.  I did that.

Q It was only AK-47s?

A At that stage, it was only AK-47s. I can’t remember the exact figure, but it was something like 1,500 guns. Pretty routine stuff in the defence trade. I needed an approximate location to fix the final price and they gave it as Kolkata.

Q After this, you met the people concerned?

A Yes, I went to Copenhagen after this. The German businessman met me at the airport. He took me to a house in quite a smart suburb of Copenhagen. Here, I met two Danish men, Peter and Brian, I think. So, we drew up what was a pretty standard contract.

Q And what did you discuss?

A Well, this was the peculiar thing; this is what alerted me. There was something wrong because they quoted delivery of the weapons to Kolkata, but actually said they wanted me to deliver the consignment to inland India. At this point, I understood this was not a legal deal. No legitimate trader ever says this. It was impossible, as business is only done through Customs warehouses.   

Q Did you raise this with them?

A Yes, I did. My concern was to get back to England as fast as possible. So, all I wanted to do really was buy a bit of time until I got back to London and spoke with the Ministry of Defence, with which I worked in those days. So I said, “Look, I gave you a quote on the basis of a legitimate deal. If you want something else, it is a completely different subject.” After a while, they went inside and came back with a guy, Kim Davy. They introduced him as the man in charge of the group, and he produced a map of West Bengal, stuck his finger on Purulia and said that he wanted the guns delivered there. I said I will get back with another quote and left.

I flew back to Manchester. I telephoned the Ministry of Defence and told them exactly what had happened. I faxed the details, and later, this fax became quite a controversial document. 

Q And then?

A The Ministry of Defence told me I was to continue dealing with these people and keep reporting to the authorities, who would advise me on what to do. And that is exactly what I did.

Q So what was the next stage?

A I gave them a quote. They said it was acceptable and I met them next in Bangkok. This is where I met Kim Davy’s colleague from Hongkong—Mac was his name. There was also an Indian guy, Ranbir I think—I don’t know what his actual name was; he was dressed in a kurta pajama.

Q So what was finalised in Bangkok?

A Here they said they wanted 300 rifles. But they also wanted hand grenades, pistols, rocket launchers, the usual terrorist package. It was not a defensive, but an aggressive package. They said they wanted to buy an aircraft of their own to deliver the goods. They wanted to drop the arms by parachute.

Q Did the Indian chap play a major role?

A He did not know English, but yes, they kept stopping to translate the conversation for him.

Q So, the logistics were finalised in Bangkok?

A Yes, I flew back to the UK from there. I had another meeting with the MI5 Special Branch (British Intelligence) and gave them a complete update. They told me they had had discussions with the Indian Government, which was fully aware of what was happening. The fax and notes I sent to MI5 said that the group concerned wanted these arms and ammunition to attack the communist government there. Later, I learnt that this was West Bengal, but at that time, I was not at all familiar with India.

Q Did MI5 officials speak of the Indian Government’s response to this information?

A I was given very specific instructions. I was told the Indian Government felt it was very important that the aircraft came to India loaded with armaments and with Kim Davy on board so they could arrest the aircraft, interrogate the people on the aircraft and know who the guns were for. And that was told very, very specifically. I was told it was vital that the aircraft entered Indian airspace. The other thing I was told—this has come back to me many times because it has been twisted from what it was—was that MI5 did not want me to supply the guns to Kim Davy. The reason was that once they were arrested in India, there would be a paper trail and that would come back to me. MI5 would be compromised. So they told me to tell Kim Davy that the purchase of the aircraft was a difficult job—which it was—and that I would not have time to deal with the arms shipment as well. And that is exactly what happened. I was told, sell him the aircraft, not the guns, and that is what I did.

Q Did you put them in touch with whoever they got the guns from?

A Yes, because I would have got them from a broker anyway and the name of the company is Technology and Innovations. It’s a British company.

Q And you arranged the aircraft?

A Yes, I contacted various agents and located two aircraft at Riga airport at Latvia. I faxed the information to Kim Davy and he and his friend Mac came over and inspected the two aircraft .

Q So now, you were ready to go?

A This was the end of November, but it got a bit complicated. It was a good deal that got him spare parts to last for two years. As the maximum cargo capacity was four tons, Davy had to fly to the subcontinent, unload the spare parts, return to Europe and collect the guns. That is why it went on till December.

Q What part of the Subcontinent did Davy go to in this journey?

A He stopped at Varanasi and stayed there in, I think, The Great Eastern Hotel, where he met others who were involved. One of the men was English. I have the receipts; he paid for his stay at the hotel. At some stage, they went around the proposed drop zone.

Q So it was agreed that you would accompany them for the drop?

A Not at all. We are gun dealers. We do not even see the consignments we supply. 

Q So how come you got on the aircraft?

A (He gives details about how he had to because of some complications with the airworthiness certificate.) Mike Davy telephoned me from Sharjah in the Gulf and explained the problems and asked if I could arrange a new certificate of airworthiness. As it happened, MI5 special branch officers were sitting with me when I took that phone call and I put that call on the loudspeaker and allowed them to hear all these details. I told him I could probably arrange this. 

Q And then?

A [After everything had been arranged] Davy told me, “Look, you are the only person who knows absolutely every detail of this operation. I am very sorry, I don’t want you to  be out of my sight  until the job is completed. I have to insist you travel with me on the aircraft.” This would be the 11 or 12th of December. I had been told by MI5 to ensure that the aircraft entered Indian airspace. I did not think it would be a serious problem. I knew the Indian authorities knew about it. I knew the British authorities also knew all this. So I thought the best thing I could do was to go on the plane. 

Q Was there a definite time and date for the drop?

A Yes. He said it had to be on 17 December night.

Q What was the last lap, from where?

A We left Karachi early afternoon 17 December. We had travelled in hops of 2,000 km. 

Q Who all were in the aircraft?

A Myself, Kim Davy, the five Russian crew, and Deepak, the chap who had delivered parachutes to Kim Davy. When we left the Pakistan airspace and entered the Indian airspace, Davy and Deepak started to open up the boxes and, of course, the racks and racks of AK-47. Davy then had to talk to the crew—this man is very talented, he speaks fluent Hindi, Bengali, Russian, French, English. I don’t know how he persuaded the crew to go along, but he did. We reached Varanasi and by the time the aircraft was ready to take off, it was completely dark and I said to him, “Ridiculous, we can’t do this.” I was quite frightened; flying at 300 feet above ground level is a very dangerous thing to do. Mike Davy was insistent. He said, “No, it has to be dropped tonight.”

Q Were you expecting to be intercepted by government authorities in Varanasi?

A Absolutely. But nothing happened. Varanasi was the perfect place for interception because the aircraft was on the ground with no fuel, so we could not take off. It was a quiet airport and they (the authorities) could have got us.

Q You had been told that the Indian Government knew about the flight and the arms it was carrying?

A Yes, I had a conversation with MI5. I pointed out that Varanasi was the perfect place [to arrest them], they wrote that down and I know that was communicated to the Indian Government. This aircraft would be on the ground, full of guns and ammunitions, with not a drop of petrol in the tank.  It could go nowhere. It could not be a more perfect situation to seize the aircraft and the weapons. I was absolutely astonished why it did not happen. If you see the fax that I sent to the ministry of defence  on the 18th of August, one of the options I had suggested was that the Indian Air Force could deal with the situation very easily by simply shooting the plane down over the dropping zone and bomb the people on the ground and that would be the end of that insurgent group. My terrible worry when we took off from Varanasi was, ‘My God, this is what they are going to do’. This is the end of the line, simply shoot the aircraft down. I was even more surprised when that didn’t happen.  

Q And then?

A The flight plan was filed; the aircraft was going to refuel at Yangon and from there to Phuket, which was the end of the line. But we did not have enough fuel, so stopped at Kolkata to refuel. No one paid us any attention and we went on to Phuket.

Q When you made the drop, were you sure it was on target?

A We overshot the target in the dark. So, it fell in the village on the other side of the target area. We did not know that. We landed in Phuket. The BBC was reporting the Purulia drop, which they would not have known of if it was all fine. I realised something was wrong. Kim Davy telephoned friends in India. He told me it had gone wrong. He wanted to fly on and send the crew and myself home, but I remembered that I was told it was vital for this chap to be caught in India. So I persuaded him to fly back to Karachi, which meant crossing over India again. I thought I must give the Indian authorities a second chance to stop the aircraft. 

Q But again, nothing happened?

A The aircraft was stopped and asked to land, but it had nothing to do with the Purulia case. It was to do with the mix-up of flight plans. We landed at the Mumbai airport and were arrested because Kim Davy disappeared from the airport. We were cleared for Karachi and then they saw that instead of seven, we were only six persons. Davy had disappeared and we had no idea where. We were arrested as a result.  

Q Considering everything was going on smoothly, why did Davy decide to leave?

A There was a big argument between Davy and the airport deputy manager because he was insisting on landing fees, and Davy said you asked us to land so why should we pay. But at the end, he agreed to pay and went with the deputy manager to complete the formalities. He must have passed some police, and thought it was because of Purulia. I assume he just went and got a ticket and left. That’s the last I saw of him until three years ago in Copenhagen.

Q And you were all arrested at that point?

A Not for Purulia, but for immigration reasons. 

Q When did they link you to the Purulia drop?

A I told them that the plane they were looking for was this. I finally realised that Davy had gone, and it was safe to talk. They did not believe me at first, so I showed them a couple of sniper rifles that were still there.

Q After this, you were taken away?

A No, we were kept at the airport for a couple of days. Then taken to Kolkata and after four months, produced before the magistrate. It came as a huge shock to suddenly discover I was being charged with waging war against India. I simply could not understand what was happening. I was questioned by dozens of persons, so I insisted on a computer, and wrote down the full story in 30 pages, every single detail.

I gave that to the CBI in Kolkata. When we came to the court, they denied that the statement had been made, even  though the chargesheet was obviously written from my statement.

The first thing I realised was that the massive Indian Air Force radar at Kalikonda had been switched off that night. That night only. And that rang the bell on why Kim Davy wanted to deliver the guns on the night of the 17th—because he knew in advance that the radar was switched off. People may believe my side of the story or not. But on the evidence alone, it was pretty clear that something very serious has been covered up here. 

Q If, as you say, the radar was switched off that night, that is a very serious issue. 

A I personally cross-examined the Air Force officer on duty that night.  He was a witness in court and he admitted on record that the radar was switched off that night. That’s an absolute fact. 

Q Now, with the information you have, why were these arms being dropped for the Ananda Margis?

A I think it is highly possible they may have been used. Somebody may have seen them as a suitable organisation to give arms to.  I don’t necessarily think it was their idea.

Q They would not have been in a position to switch off the radar. So obviously, it might not have been just their idea. Right?

A There is nobody connected to the Ananda Marg who has that kind of influence; this has to have come from somewhere else. I don’t think I am being impertinent when I am saying India is paranoid about national security and clearly, a powerful, vital radar can’t be switched off just like that. It’s impossible, it is just crazy. You have to have a great deal of influence to be able to switch off the radar. 

Q So what you are saying really is the Ananda Marg was a conduit for a larger conspiracy?

A I think so. The hard evidence that  came up in court indicates there was a serious conspiracy. One thing is for sure, if  the Ananda Margis themselves wanted this, it was far easier to drop the guns at the huge compound at Anandgarh. It’s a massive compound at a massive altitude. Even if it went wrong, it would have still fallen within that compound. The fact that this didn’t happen suggests to me that it was not an official Ananda Marg conspiracy. The people involved may  have been Ananda Margis, but I don’t think it came from their leadership. 

Q Why do you say it was to destabilise the Left Front government?

A I was told right in the beginning that  the arms were meant to attack the Communist state government. At that stage, I was unaware that West Bengal had such a government. Now, I know a lot more about that.

About The Author

Seema Mustafa