New Spy Scandal Erupts in India, With Arrest of Influential Lobbyist

NEW DELHI —  India was shaken Tuesday by a new spy scandal. Rama Swaroop, a New Delhi businessman and international lobbyist, was charged with passing defense and state secrets to Taiwan, West Germany, Israel and other unidentified foreign countries.

Swaroop, who was arrested Monday night after evading the police for the last month, was placed in custody for 14 days. The magistrate, Bharat Bhushan, said the case was one in which the security of the nation was at stake. And he requested an urgent medical report after Swaroop charged that he had been tortured by police.

The 55-year-old businessman has reportedly been peddling contacts at the highest levels of the Indian government and bureaucracy for 25 years.

His principal client was Taiwan, which has no diplomatic relations with India. Swaroop represented the Chinese Nationalist interests through a company called Far East Trade Services, claiming to have boosted trade from $10 million a year to $200 million.

On Monday night, the Press Trust of India reported that the security services have recovered a large number of classified documents during raids on Swaroop’s home and two offices. The documents are said to have included “vital information regarding defense and military affairs of extreme importance to the security and sovereignty of India.”

Some of the papers mentioned seem, however, to have been public. They include details of a parliamentary reply about the interception of Taiwanese trawlers by the Indian navy.

The muckraking Bombay weekly Current alleged last weekend that Far East Trade Services was a two-way channel for the CIA. Swaroop was reported to have told the police that his contact men were based in Bombay and Srinagar, Kashmir.

Police sources hinted Tuesday that a second spy ring, like that unearthed with the arrest last spring of another wheeler-dealer, Coomar Narain, is likely to be exposed, with further arrests.