Delhi. Aug 30
Foreign doctors and volunteers who were working among the eight million Bengali refugees in eastern India were suddenly asked to leave the area early this month because the Government suspected that a few volunteers were spies, a senior member of Mrs Gandhi's Government has admitted.

My informant, Mr R. K. Khadilkar, Minister for Refugees and Rehabilitation, told me that, among other reasons, the Government had asked the volunteers to withdraw from the camps because the Indian authorities suspected that foreign governments had introduced agents into charitable organizations to provoke trouble between the Hindu and Muslim religious communities.

Mr Khadilkar did not name the foreign countries, but the British, American and West European charitable organizations are the only ones with volunteers who have been working among the refugees.

Although Mr Khadilkar could not offer a rational explanation of the motives of “foreign spies” it soon became apparent that the Indian government has in fact asked for volunteers to leave the sensitive border areas because it does not want foreigners to stumble upon the secret camps of the East Bengali guerrillas on this side of the border.

Of the allegation that some of the volunteers had been sent to India as spies, Mr Khadilkar said “Under such a delicate situation the Government has to be cautious. Most of the volunteers came to India with the best cd intentions and wo don't suspect all of them. But it is possible that some others might have been sent to the camps with ulterior motives.

“We have a very delicate situation. On the one hand we know that a lot of Hindus have come across the border and it would be easy for a spy to promote tension between Hindus and Muslims”.

The Minister then moved closer to a meaningful reason for the decision “Some l=foreigners would certainly be sent to spy on the situation on the border and they might come to the wrong conclusions, which would affect our position internationally” he said.

“I don’t want to make any secret of it. In many cases the Pakistani troops are chasing the Bengali guerillas across the border in hot pursuit. Under the circumstances they are bound to cross the border to seek refuge here and we can’t prevent them.

“It would be wrong to keep foreigners on the border. In the first place there is the danger that they might be hurt by Pakistani shelling and secondly they might come to the wrong conclusion that we are giving the guerrillas shelter and help”.