JAMMU: Strategic maps of Srinagar city the summer capital of India’s northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir with locations of all vital installations are reported to be missing from the records of Srinagar development authority.
Official sources suspect that the maps have landed in the hands of militants who might have smuggled them into Pakistan.
These maps running into 33 sheets were prepared for the state government by the survey of India for formation of a master plan for greater Srinagar. These maps carried minute locational details
Enquiries made reveal that these maps were collected by an officer of Srinagar development authority from the survey of India Chandigarh on May 25 last year.
Taking a serious note of the theft of Strategic maps of Srinagar city the state Governor K.V. Krishna Rao has asked the Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police M.N.Rabharwal to investigate the matter thoroughly to Ox the responsibility for this lapse.
The state government formally referred the case of missing strategic maps to the police on Dec.29. Strategic maps of Srinagar city with locations of all vital installations were reportedly missing from the office of the Srinagar Development Authority since May 1992 Police and security officials believe that the strategic maps have been passed on to the Pakistani intelligence agencies by the militants.
These maps running into 331 sheets were prepared by the Survey of India for formation of a master plan for Srinagar city. These maps prepared to be exact scale after aerial photography indicates the exact locations of vital installations cantonment and other strategically important buildings.
According to state government officials these maps were collected by Mohammed Yaseen Qureshi secretary of the Srinagar Development Authority from the office of Col K.S.Khatri deputy-director Survey of India north western circle Chandigarh in May 1992. The said officer claims to have passed the same to Shuja Hussain vice-chairman of Srinagar Development Authority Ho in turn passed them to the town planner who denies receiving anything.
Surprisingly neither any action was taken nor was the matter brought to the notice of higher officials for almost one and half years.
Security officials feel that militants: have these maps and are able to fire rockets at strategic buildings with pinpoint accuracy. The recent attack on Doordarshan building and earlier two attacks on secretariat buildings could be attributed to these maps. Such accurate firing could be possible only with the help of scaled maps with the help of which correct distance and direction of a targets could be calculated up to one foot of accuracy said a senior security official.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 7, 1994
