Rabinder Singh (intelligence officer)

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Rabinder Singh.jpg

Rabinder Singh was an Indian Army officer and Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) officer. He is known for spying for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and defecting to the United States in 2004. He was killed in a car crash in Maryland in 2016. [1] [2]

Contents

He was charged under Official Secrets Act and Indian Penal Code. [3] In 2007, Central Bureau of Investigation requested Interpol to issue red corner notice, which was refused. [4]

Early life and education

Rabinder was born to an affluent family in Amritsar, the son of a retired lieutenant in the Indian Army. [5]

Career

Singh initially served in the Indian Army and joined the Gorkha regiments, reaching the rank of Major [6] and later took a volunteer retirement. He later volunteered to join Research & Analysis Wing. He served as First Secretary in the Indian Embassy at Damascus, Syria. [7]

During his tenure in RAW, Singh worked as head of its office in Amritsar and then as a field operative in West Asia and West Europe. [8] He later served as Joint Secretary to the Government of India at R&AW headquarters in New Delhi and focused on its South-East Asia operations. [5] [9]

In 2004, Rabinder was dismissed by the Government of India after getting the President of India nod [8] for the move (Article 311 of the Constitution (withdrawal of Presidential pleasure). [3]

Defection claims

It has been alleged that he fell for a CIA honey-trap, likely either at the R&AW station in Damascus or Hague during the early 1990s by a female case officer of the CIA. [10] According to reports, he attracted attention from counter-intelligence officials when he was found photocopying documents not related to his work. After coming under suspicion, he was placed under surveillance and his phone conversations were tapped, but in May 2004, he disappeared. [11] He is suspected of having escaped to the U.S. via Nepal. [12]

In Mission R&AW, a book written by a former R&AW officer, it is claimed that Singh flew to America from Kathmandu along with his wife on 7 May 2004 using a fake identity in the names of Mr and Mrs Rajpal Prasad Sharma. Prabhu Chawla, writing in the New Indian Express stated that R&AW had managed to get copies of their visas and embarkation cards prior to take off. These documents reveal that the CIA, on 7 April 2004, issued US passport number 017384251 to Singh. His wife Parminder Kaur was also given a US passport on the same day in the name of Deepa Kumar Sharma. Both boarded Austrian Air flight number 5032 on 7 May 2004, from Kathmandu. He was assisted by CIA operative David M Vacala. [13]

Tracking in the USA by R&AW

In 2007, in an affidavit submitted to the court, R&AW deposed that Singh has been traced to New Jersey. [14] It is believed[ by whom? ] that, meanwhile, Singh has filed for asylum in US, under the name of Surenderjeet Singh, which was rejected by the trial court of India but remanded back for reconsideration by the court of appeals. [15] There has been no official proof however that Surenderjeet Singh is an alias of Rabinder Singh. [16]

"Singh, a native of India, was raised as a Sikh and practices the Sikh religion. According to his testimony, he was recruited by an organ of the government of India known as the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), situated in the office of the Prime Minister. Its functions, he testified, were like those of the CIA. As an agent of the RAW, he made reports on individuals believed to be Sikhs working to establish the separate Sikh state of Khalistan. He investigated about three persons a year over a period of thirteen years. He submitted postal receipts that he said showed his mailings to the RAW. He quit when ordered to aid in the assassination of a very religious person he had investigated. After hiding with friends for a year, he used his own passport to come to the United States. He testified that he would be killed if returned to India." Excerpt from the United States Court of Appeals. [17]

Reports suggest Singh left his role under ambiguous circumstances in 2004, amidst allegations of intelligence ties with the CIA. Subsequent narratives, including claims from a former R&AW officer's book, provided varying accounts of Singh's journey post-2004.

Death controversy

According to Indian government sources, he was killed in Maryland in the USA in a road accident in late 2016. He was living there as a refugee, having been cash-strapped after the CIA had stopped paying him money. US intelligence had blocked his application for asylum and his attempts to obtain a job with a think tank run by a former CIA senior officer were blocked too. [10]

Personal life

Rabinder was married to Parminder Kaur who worked at United States Agency for International Development. [18] They lived in Defence Colony, while living in New Delhi. [5] They have a daughter who is an international-level athlete and now lives in the US. [18]

In spy thriller film Khufiya released in year 2023, actor Ali Fazal plays the role of Rabinder Singh, who served as Joint Secretary in RAW and a double agent. [19]

Further reading

External sources

References

  1. ↑ "Was missing spy Rabinder Singh a CIA mole in RAW? The real behind the scene story". Archived from the original on 5 December 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2005. "Was missing spy Rabinder Singh a CIA mole in RAW? The real behind the scene story" (India Daily)
  2. ↑ Spy versus Spy: Games India and the US play
  3. 1 2 "2 RAW men depose against colleague". Deccan Herald . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  4. ↑ "Interpol refuses to issue warrant against RAW sleuth". The Times of India . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 "The true story of Rabinder Singh, an Indian spy who became a mole for the CIA and vanished into thin air". Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "Remember Rabinder Singh?". Rediff. 23 May 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "Getting away with treason: the story of double-agent Rabinder Singh". Catchnews.com. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  8. 1 2 "RAW frames charges against CIA spy". Rediff.com . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "The RAW And The Cooked: Whose Spy Was He?". Outlook (Indian magazine) . Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 Rabinder Singh, spy who defected to US, is no more: Double agent lived his last years as a remorseful recluse, First Post, 7 July 2018.
  11. ↑ "The Spy Chronicles: Two Wayfarers On The Bridge Of Spies | Outlook India Magazine". 4 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Our Man in New Delhi". Archived from the original on 29 March 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008. "Our Man in New Delhi" (Frontline)
  13. ↑ Yadav, Yatish. "Former Spy Reveals Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
  14. ↑ "Rabinder in US, we want him back: RAW in court - Indian Express". www.indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Surender Jeet Singh v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General" (PDF). United States court of appeals for the Ninth circuit. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2005.
  16. ↑ "I worked for RAW, was told to kill a Sikh leader: Asylum plea in US court - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "A tip-off alerted this Indian double agent he was about to be caught. Somehow, he managed to disappear". ABC News. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  18. 1 2 "Rabinder Singh spy scandal exposed R&AW's ugly sides. But India hasn't learned from its mistakes". ThePrint. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  19. ↑ "Does US Charge in Pannun Case Show Double Standard? A Look at How CIA Hoodwinked RAW's Rabinder Singh". News18. 30 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
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