At the convocation ceremony of IIT Roorkee, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval talked about the period in his career when he felt that his career was about to end. During this, he shared an anecdote related to the merger of Sikkim with India and his posting there.
Ajit Doval: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval shared an interesting and challenging anecdote from his career at the convocation ceremony of IIT Roorkee. He told that there was an incident during his early career when he felt that his professional life could be over. The case pertained to their deployment in Sikkim and an intelligence mission in which some soldiers unknowingly entered the Chinese border.
Doval was handling the responsibility of intelligence in Sikkim.
Ajit Doval told that when he was a young IPS officer, he was given the responsibility of intelligence in Sikkim. At that time the process of merger of Sikkim with India was going on. His role was not limited to just keeping an eye on local activities, but his responsibilities also included monitoring the border areas, activities of the Chinese Army i.e. People's Liberation Army (PLA) and gathering information related to the border.
According to Doval, he was around 20 to 25 years old at that time and was new to intelligence work. Working amid the sensitive conditions of the border areas was an important experience for him. During this time, a mission came to the fore, which left him deeply worried at both personal and professional levels.
The mission was to return in eight days, but no news was received even after 10 days
NSA told that once an intelligence mission was sent to the border area. According to the plan, the people involved in the mission were to return within about eight days. Initially five days passed, but the team did not return. After this, 10 days passed and still no information was received about him.
Doval said that this situation was very worrying for him. They did not even know whether the people involved in the mission were safe or not. There were also no reports related to any snow storm or other natural disaster. In such a situation, not getting any information about the mission team became a big cause for concern.
A call came from the headquarters and the real information came out.
After the team did not return for several days, Doval received a call from the headquarters. His superior officer asked him if he had sent some people to the other side of the border. Doval replied that he was not aware of this and that the team should have returned in five or six days, whereas now 10 to 11 days had passed.
After this his boss told him that the people involved in the mission were in the custody of the Chinese Army. According to the report, the soldiers had accidentally crossed into Chinese territory, after which they were caught and interrogated. Later after negotiations or some agreement they were sent back. However, Doval said that when he returned, his condition was very bad and he looked mentally and physically distressed.
Doval felt that his career might be over
After this incident investigation into the case started. Ajit Doval said that at that time he felt that his career might be over. He was in the early stages of his career and was feeling extremely worried about this incident. However, he was found not guilty after the investigation was completed. According to Doval, there were some shortcomings and mistakes in the sketches and maps provided from the headquarters. For these reasons, the people involved in the mission had unknowingly crossed the Chinese border.