Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
In 1965, the CIA and India’s Intelligence Bureau launched a secret operation to place a nuclear-powered surveillance device on Nanda Devi to monitor China’s nuclear activity.
The team carried a generator powered by plutonium—5kg of it. Unknown to some of them at the time, it was nearly as radioactive as the material used in Hiroshima.
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As a severe blizzard hit, the expedition had to turn back, leaving the device behind. When they returned months later, the equipment had disappeared—likely swept away by an avalanche.
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Experts have warned that if the plutonium container was breached, it could contaminate glaciers feeding into rivers like the Ganga, posing a long-term environmental threat.
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Nanda Devi is not just a mountain—it's seen as sacred. Locals believe it’s the home of Goddess Nanda, and many view the peak as spiritually protected and significant.
A local legend tells of Princess Nanda, who is said to have merged with the mountain to avoid a forced marriage. Her story continues to shape how people see the peak.
Soon after the mission, the sanctuary around Nanda Devi was closed, officially for ecological reasons. Some believe the closure was also meant to avoid attention on the missing device.
Decades later, two U.S. labs tested water and soil from the area. One found traces of plutonium consistent with the mission’s generator, but the findings led nowhere publicly.
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In 2018, interest returned when a state minister urged PM Modi to investigate. Since then, with new environmental events nearby, the lost device continues to raise questions.
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