India Today

June 16, 1997

McLeodganj: The murder of Lobsang Gyatso, a Tibetan guru, and his two disciples in McLeodganj last February would have passed for a routine crime. So would have the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl recently, had not the Himachal Pradesh police detected a common thread. The Tibetan youth detained in the first case confessed that he had acted at the behest of Sugden Dorjee, the leader of a cult opposed to the Dalai Lama. And the youth arrested in the second case said he was a Chinese agent.

Intelligence agencies now believe there could be a conspiracy to drive a wedge into Indo-Tibetan relations. There could even be a threat to the Dalai Lama. who heads his government from McLeodganj. Moves are now afoot to install a hi-tech security system in the Dalai Lama's palace. Naturally, the Central Government is concerned since any strain in relations with the Tibetans will only give the Chinese the upper hand.