The blunders of the defenceministry haunted the UPA government through its lastdays in power. One of themis set to surface into the spot-light and cause some red faces.

A major security scare, it is learnt, triggered alarm at the highest levels of government after the export version of India's latest nuclear-capable missile sent abroad for an exhibition last year was stranded on foreign soil for weeks. The only prototype of Pragati, the export version of the Prahaar missile designed to counter a controversial Pakistani missile, was sent to South Korea in a departure from rules. It was the first time the prototype of such a sensitive weapon was sent out of India.

It lay unguarded at a South Korean port for nearly a month after missing its shipping date and returned as commercial cargo in end-November after passing through Chinese ports.

Although an Intelligence Bureau inquiry raised several questions on the security breach, the case of the missing missile was hushed up in March on the directions of then defence minister A.K. Antony. But the new Government is taking a fresh look at the case given its gravity and it is learnt that the entire process is being re-examined.

"I would not like to comment on such sensitive matters off the cuff," Antony told INDIA TODAY when reached for comment. "The facts of the case are with the present Government and they should be asked. I do not have access to these things anymore." The alarm over the episode is underscored by the fact that Pragati is the counter to new tactical nuclear missiles developed by Pakistan that seek to change the strategic balance of the region, now in favour of India due to its conventional superiority. Unlike conventional long-range missiles that can carry nuclear weapons capable of wiping out large parts of a city, if not the entire city, these tactical missiles are short-range, manoeuvrable and have a limited destruction radius to annihilate specific targets such as a formation of tanks or an advancing section of troops. In short, a "small" nuclear attack to blunt a conventional Indian military attack.

Described as a "weapon of peace" by Pakistan's nuclear forces chief, the Nasr missile inducted last year is being projected as a game-changer as it seeks to subvert the rules by posing as a strike weapon against military targets without carrying the stigma of a weapon of mass destruction that targets innocents indiscriminately. India's response has been twofold. The first was to indicate, via National Security Advisory Board Chairperson Shyam Saran last year, that any use of nuclear weapons, tactical or otherwise, would be considered a violation of the no-first-use policy and invite massive retaliation. The more practical response, however, has been development of Prahaar, India's own tactical missile capable of retaliatory strikes against a possible limited Pakistani attack.

Therefore, Pragati, Prahaar's export variant, was touted as the highlight of the Indian participation at the ADEX Seoul Defence Show that began on October 29. Capable of carrying a 200 kg warhead with a range of 60-170 km, it is meant to replace India's first generation Prithvi-I nuclear-capable missile in the coming years.

The norm for displaying sensitive weapons at such exhibitions is to make a dummy and ship it out. But for reasons best known to them, in this case the exhibitors-Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the manufacturer Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL)-sent a fully functional prototype that was meant to be used as a test missile. The decision had to be cleared by Antony himself. But the bizarre sequence of events that followed is detailed in an exhaustive intelligence report.

The exhibitors, the IB report stated, failed to wrap up the missile in time after the show ended on November 3 and the prototype missed its scheduled date to be shipped back to India. For close to a month, the missile lay unattended at a port, awaiting alternate shipping arrangements. When these arrangements were finally made, the missile travelled as regular cargo on a merchant vessel that reached India after customary stopovers at Chinese ports, leaving open the possibility of exposing its technology. The delay in the return of the missile set back the development project by several weeks and led to an inquiry late last year after reports of the missile lying abroad were received by the IB from Seoul, apparently from contacts in the Indian Embassy.

In the inquiry spread over severalmonths, the IB found that the missile was sent abroad against norms and that the decision was a major security risk and asked the defence ministry to fix accountability. It also raised red flags on the manner in which the missile was handled and the security breach in the highly sensitive missile project. The report sent to the defence ministry in February also questioned the role of the handling agent used by the exhibitors in South Korea, a man of Chinese origin who was in charge of logistics. The report also talks about the impact of the delay in shipping the missile on the missile programme as the prototype was to be fired months after returning from Seoul.

But in his last few weeks in office, Antony apparently hushed up the case and the IB report was given a quiet burial. The report was dismissed, it is reliably learnt, with a curt note by Antony himself. An official note dated March 13, 2014, in response to a query from the IB on the action taken, just says: "Due care should be taken in the future."

In its defence, manufacturer BDL had informed IB that permission to ship out a prototype was taken from the "raksha mantri" as well as the external affairs ministry. DRDO pointed out that in its note to Antony seeking permission to send Pragati and the medium-range surface-to-air Akash missile to Seoul, it had specifically mentioned "Pragati missile system (actual system)". With Antony giving his approval, the complete missile, without the warhead, was sent to the exhibition.

However, after the embarrassing episode and the IB probe, the defence ministry passed orders to ensure prototypes of such sensitive weapons are not sent abroad. But no accountability has so far been fixed for the missile being stranded or the mismanagement of the entire affair. Now, with the Government looking at the matter afresh, the case has been brought to the attention of the top leadership for action.

However, sources said it is unclear how the Modi Government intends to take action considering the incident was closed during the last weeks of the UPA government, with little information available on what transpired during the missile's delayed journey back home. The IB inquiry also failed to throw light on this.

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