France Recalls Attache From India After Spy Charges

France recalled its deputy military attache in India on Sunday after a newspaper here said a French diplomat had been deported following the breakup of a major spy ring in the country.

France said it was recalling the attache, Lt. Col. Alain Bolley, an aviation expert based in New Delhi for four years, for consultations.

The announcement by the French External Relations Ministry in Paris was made after India’s largest-selling newspaper, the Indian Express, reported that a French diplomat was deported Saturday.

Newspapers said an espionage ring of at least 12 senior civil servants and businessmen sold India’s most sensitive secrets, including defense arrangements with the Soviet Union, its main weapons supplier, for as little as a bottle of whiskey.

“By now there is nothing vital about India that is hidden from Western powers,” the Indian Express reported Sunday. It said the ring had links to the CIA.

The Press Trust of India news agency said that the roundup of suspects, which started last Thursday, was still in progress and that several civil servants had gone into hiding.

Government sources, who spoke on condition that they not be identified, said during questioning that those under arrest said they had been selling national secrets to foreigners. Three of the Defense Ministry officials were accused of leaking classified information about India’s arms deals and negotiations with the Soviet Union, one source said.

In its report, the United News of India quoted intelligence sources as alleging that businessman Coomar Narain of New Delhi sold government papers to Bolley for “big money” but paid “paltry sums” to officials from whom he bought them.

Bolley, his wife and child left for Paris on a scheduled Air France flight shortly before midnight Sunday, within hours of the French government’s announcement of his recall.

However, Bolley denied any connection with the scandal. “I’m not involved in any spying activity, nor is the French Embassy involved,” he said in an interview. He also said he learned of his recall from reporters.

In Paris, the External Relations Ministry statement said Bolley was being recalled for consultations, then added, “As for the rest, (the government) has no comment to make on an affair which has nothing to do with it.”

Press Trust of India said Bolley had been involved in negotiations to supply India with 40 of the latest French Mirage 2000 jet fighters.

Western diplomats said the Soviet Union’s decision to sell India its advanced MIG-29 fighter had dashed French hopes of a bigger Mirage order.

Press Trust said a number of diplomats were under surveillance. Orders were issued at international airports to screen all departing passengers, including foreigners.

The agency also said one of the key files missing from Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s office is a document on India’s efforts “to acquire a highly sophisticated weapons system.”

Newspapers said the espionage ring passed on details of spy satellites, arms production and purchases and lists of India’s military and other intelligence agents.