Sonia Gandhi allegedly bypassed India’s intelligence and security agencies in favour of Italian officials for security arrangements involving herself and her children, even when she was part of the Prime Minister’s household and later when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. The reported preference for Italian security personnel extended to sensitive matters involving Indira Gandhi’s security, the training of SPG commandos and the overseas movements of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
These allegations, originally published in The New Indian Express on 17 April 2004 under the title Sonia Unmasked, have resurfaced after Thuglak editor S Gurumurthy shared excerpts from the article on social media platform X. Gurumurthy said the investigation was based on oral testimonies from retired officials, including senior RAW officers, and was subsequently reproduced in his book Sonia in the Perception of a Nationalist.
In his posts, Gurumurthy also recalled that Sonia Gandhi had applied for Indian citizenship only years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi and living in the household of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He argued that her alleged reliance on Italian security arrangements, even after Rajiv became Prime Minister, raised questions about her trust in India’s own security establishment. He further claimed that neither Sonia Gandhi nor the Congress had disputed his 2004 exposé or initiated legal proceedings against him.
According to the article, Rajiv Gandhi, after entering active politics following Sanjay Gandhi’s death in 1980, began participating in classified RAW briefings despite not holding any government position. He also reportedly insisted that his associates Arun Nehru and Arun Singh be allowed to attend the briefings. RAW initially objected, but Indira Gandhi intervened and secured permission for their participation, with their names kept off the official records.
It is alleged that Rajiv subsequently pressed RAW to establish liaison with Italian intelligence agencies, despite the Indian agency not considering them sufficiently capable for intelligence cooperation. Gurumurthy claimed that the pressure eventually forced RAW to establish contact with Italian agencies after more than a decade, with Sonia Gandhi acting as the intermediary who facilitated the first clandestine meeting between Indian and Italian intelligence officials.
https://t.co/bVZ8H7chcz
— S Gurumurthy (@sgurumurthy) November 9, 2026
At the time, Sonia was still an Italian citizen and had not acquired Indian citizenship, the article pointed out.
Allegations of Sonia’s extended family’s involvement in India’s security arrangements are also being raised. According to the article, Walter Winci, the husband of Sonia’s sister Anushka, brokered a contract with a German company for bullet-proofing Indira Gandhi’s car in the 1980s. RAW reportedly suspected that Winci had received a commission from the arrangement.
It is alleged that Winci subsequently arranged for Italian security personnel to train Special Protection Group (SPG) commandos, following the establishment of the SPG in 1984 for the protection of the Prime Minister. The training reportedly ended in controversy after Italian trainers allegedly mistreated Indian personnel and slapped an SPG trainee.
RAW subsequently brought the incident to Rajiv Gandhi’s attention, warning that such treatment could create resentment among security personnel and potentially compromise his security. Rajiv reportedly cancelled the training programme.
Questions were also raised about the security arrangements for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during their overseas visits. It is alleged that when Sonia travelled to France with Rajiv in 1985, she arranged security for her children through Italian and Spanish officials without informing the Indian SPG.
A similar arrangement was allegedly made during Rahul and Priyanka’s visits to Geneva and Italy in 1986, with security coordinated through the Italian Foreign Office.
Recounting an incident in Geneva, Gurumurthy’s article cited a Swiss police official, Jack Kunzi, who allegedly taunted an Indian RAW officer by remarking that the Prime Minister’s wife did not trust Indian security agencies or the Indian Embassy and preferred to have her children’s security coordinated by Italian officials.
According to the account, Indian security personnel were not even aware that Rahul and Priyanka had travelled to Madrid, Spain, during the visit. Their whereabouts were reportedly communicated to the RAW officer by Swiss officials, who said the children had been taken to Spain under the protection of Sonia’s relatives and Spanish authorities.
It is alleged that after Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Sonia continued to rely on Western intelligence and security agencies for information and arrangements concerning her children’s overseas travel. It claimed that her secretary, identified as George, directly communicated with Western agencies through the Italian Embassy in New Delhi and the Italian Foreign Office in Rome, leaving Indian agencies with limited knowledge of the family’s travel plans.
Gurumurthy argued that these incidents demonstrated Sonia’s lack of confidence in India’s intelligence, diplomatic and security institutions, describing the experiences of Indian officials as a matter of national humiliation.
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