Classified files of USA spy agency Central Investigation Agency (CIA), the world's powerful intelligence services is exposing some shocking facts.
It is coming out that CIA wondered "What if Rajiv Gandhi is killed?" five years before he was actually assassinated in 1991. During that time CIA prepared a very detailed and thorough brief on what would happen if he is assassinated or makes an "abrupt departure" from the Indian political scene.
The 23 page report titled "India After Rajiv ..." was ready as early as in March 1986 for comments from other senior CIA officials. The "sanitised" report was declassified recently by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
It is comingout that the parts of the report were deleted. The report was prepared what ever inputs CIA had till Jan 1986. The first sentence of the reports read "Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi faces at least an even chance of assassination before his tenure in office ends in 1989." It, however, later clearly said that "assassination is the major near-term threat" to him.
Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The section titled Key Judgments"
analyses and deliberates upon what likely scenario would emerge in the domestic and international political situation if there is a sudden change in leadership minus Rajiv Gandhi and the likely impact on India's relations with the US, the then USSR and the region.
Report ran "If Gandhi fell to a Sikh or Kashmiri Muslim assassin, widespread communal violence probably would erupt even if strong preventive security measures - including deployment of Army and paramilitary troops across northern India - were taken by the Indian President ......(deleted),"
Report felt PV.Narasimha Rao and VP.Singh the likely PM candidates in case of eventuality. In 'The Threat of Assassination: Stability in Jeopardy' section included "In our view, there is at least an even chance in the next several years of an assassination, most likely by extremist Sikhs or disgruntled Kashmiri Muslims who have targeted Rajiv," besides "a fanatical Hindu".
