New Delhi: Fake handles on the social media, a huge plot to revive the Khalistan movement and funding the Naxalites. This is a deadly cocktail that has been unearthed by the Indian security agencies who say that there is a big foreign hand in creating unrest in India.

It began with the National Investigation Agency unearthing a major plot hatched in the UK, Canada and Italy to revive the Khalistan movement. It was a plot known as Referendum 2020 and was aimed at bringing Sikh youth into the fold and reviving terrorism in Punjab.

The NIA learnt that one of the chief plotters, Harmeet Singh alias PHD had moved from Dubai to Pakistan to hatch this plot. The plot was to target the Hindu leaders in Punjab. It was working as a double edged sword for the ISI. Not only would this help revive terrorism in Punjab but also result in communal tension in other parts of the country.

The next plot to be unearthed was on the social media. Several fake handles were set up by Pakistan and the discourse on these accounts were largely political. The intention was again to create communal unrest and ensure that it became part of the political discourse in India.

Time Now had recently reported that there was a sudden spurt in anti Modi activism. A direct link was established between political unrest in India and a foreign hand, the report stated. It also said that the ISI was boosting such handles in a bid to spread fake propaganda against the Modi sarkar.

Intelligence Bureau officials say that such handles are created in Pakistan and often speak about intolerance in India and also the situation in Kashmir. This is clearly being done with an intention of changing the political discourse in the country, said the officer with the IB. It has always been a part of the strategy by the ISI, but over the past year it has only increased. Former officer with the Research and Analysis Wing, Amar Bhushan says that this is an old time strategy by the ISI to break India. He also adds that there are journalists in India too who are on the payrolls of the ISI who write propaganda material in a bid to debunk everything that the government does.

However the Intelligence points out that the most serious threat is from within. These are the naxalites and their city based friends. They have been the most vocal supporters of the naxal cause and would go to any lengths to spread a false propaganda. While this is a completely internal threat, the Intelligence also says that it is the most dangerous as it is heavily funded from outside.

The urban Naxals in particular spread havoc in terms of propaganda. They are part of NGOs whose specific brief is to suggest that everything is wrong in the country. There are also persons part of this group who put out papers and circulate it internationally in a bid to give India a poor image.