Thirty six years ago a young Vinod Sahni crossed the Line of Control as Agent 22. After months as an active spy, Sahni was captured and given 11 years in a Pakistani jail. After undergoing inhuman pain and torture for 11 years, When he returned to India, Sahni found his recruiters had ignored his family. Vinod Sahni, former Indian spy who served in a Pakistani jail, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on his ordeal and whether he seeks redressal from the Indian government.
Q. What was the promise made to you while you agree to be spy Asked by: Anshul
A. They made all big promises, brainwashed me, all big words...You will be backed by the full country. Your family will be taken care of, permanent jobs and all. They do it with each of us.
Q. How was you captured? Asked by: Sreehari
A. This only the agencies know. There are double agents. They usually divulge our identities.
Q. Who tortured you in the jail, the inmates or the officials and how difficult it was? Asked by: Madhav Banerjee
A. If you look at the marks on my body, you will understand. The punishment blocks were hell. Some inmates did but most of them were nice to me.
Q. Was there no help at all from the government or was it not enough? Asked by: nikhil
A. They did not help one bit. Even today, I am ready to give my blood for the country. But our leaders are so corrupt and selfish...you see them not going for the jawans' cremation who were killed across the LoC but they all thronged to Sarabjit's funeral. I beg people for money to treat the agents who are here. Some of their wives work as domestic servants as their husbands are still in Pak jails.
Q. Vinod. I am sure you must have gone through hell in the Pakistani jails. However, I feel you must have expected this when you decided this profession. But what hurts is the families you leave behind is ignored and they face the world with no assistance of the people who recruited and trained you. I feel like an insurance policy there should be some system for the families so that in case of any eventuality the family does not face any problems.the handlers need to decide on how they go about this. Don't you feel it is a fair requirement? Asked by: AKS
A. We knew about the risks we were taking. I do not want to claim ignorance. But you expect your family to be taken care of. There is no system and there are so many layers that it is confusing. It is not one agency too. There are so many and very often they do not cooperate with each other.
Q. Was the RAW directly involved in recruit or done by some one else Asked by: yuvaraj
A. I can't comment on this. Sorry
Q. We are in the era of wiki leaks, hence do we need spy in the first case? Is this not a colonial practice? Today USA develop war planes, drones which doesn't even require pilots, who India goes back to ancient times? Asked by: mohan
A. I have no clue about these. But I don't think human intelligence can be replaced.
Q. What's your view on a Pakistani now? Asked by: Suhail
A. I have nothing against the average, normal Pakistani, many of whom were my friends in the jail. Their system is also corrupt where the poor have to toil in jail, sometimes due to no fault of theirs, while the rich have fabulous lives. I was an agent of the Indian government and my task was aimed against the Pakistani govt. The average Pakistani does not hate Indians and are surprisingly similar to us.
Q. Do you think the Indian Govt. will ever treat spies as same as civilians and can you go back to start living your life, before you turned a spy Asked by: Ashish P
A. I do not know but I know they will have to take care of the men who take such risks for the country. Their families need to be taken care of. In this country, we do not respect life.
Q. The job of Spy is very important and crucial to any government and military. Taking care of themselves and their family is very-very important. Neglecting these issues can impact very badly on future spies. Comment/how govt take care of them? Asked by: S K Singh
A. The government does nothing. But since our country is a minefield of poor and unemployed people, finding new recruits will never be a problem.
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