Days Before Polls, Amit Shah's Face-To-Face With Intelligence Operatives

Days before elections in two states, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the Intelligence Bureau headquarters in Delhi on Wednesday and held a day-long review of the security situation.

The meeting was the first since Tapan Deka took over as Director of the organisation where field officers directly interacted with the Home Minister.

Extensive discussions were held on various aspects of internal security which included extremism, cybersecurity, sea and cross-border related aspects, sources said.

"Border security was discussed at length. Especially anti-drone technology as drone droppings from across the border of arms and drugs have seen a huge rise in the last few months," a senior Home Ministry official said, requesting not to be named.

"The situation in Kashmir and also what's happening in Pakistan and its ripple effect on the valley was discussed in the meeting," said another senior official.

The meeting assumes significance because it comes just ahead of the elections in Himachal Pradesh, which votes on Saturday, and Gujarat, which votes on December 1 and December 5.

During elections, various state branches of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) regularly send in reports on issues ranging from security to topics generating public interest and political equations on the ground.

The Home Minister conveyed the "expectations" the government has from intelligence officers regarding issues which are crucial to national security.

"Growing radicalisation, especially in the wake of over 125 arrests linked to the Popular Front of India (PFI) was discussed threadbare in the meeting," a senior officer said.

According to him, the Home Minister asked officers to concentrate on cracking down on funding for subversive activities and "go after the support system of terrorism".

"The Home Minister said that funds flowing from abroad need to be detected further," he said.

According to one official, the Home Minister asked state heads of the IB participating in the meeting to share information with each other to improve coordination.

Mr Shah also appreciated efforts made by IB in keeping the country safe, officers said.

"IB contributed a lot in maintaining peace in the country since independence, that too anonymously and without any expectations," Mr Shah told the IB officers, according to a source.