Report on phone-tapping case in Himachal submitted

 The probe into the alleged tapping of phones during the previous BJP regime in Himachal Pradesh has been completed and the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau of the state police on Saturday submitted the report and recommended registration of FIR against the errant officials.

“The inquiry has been completed and report submitted to ADGP (vigilance and anti-corruption) Prithvi Raj,” said A P Singh, deputy inspector general of police, who headed the inquiry team.

However, he refused to divulge the findings of the inquiry and said now it was for the government to study the report and take necessary action.

Highly placed sources in the government said as per the report, Indian Telegraph Act and Information Technology Act have been violated, phones had been tapped illegally without authorisation from competent authority.

Permission for tapping the phones of some people had been taken repeatedly on “filmsy grounds”, the records of tapped conversion which were not required as evidence had not been destroyed within maximum period of six months and in some cases no action had been taken on incriminating evidence in conversations which constituted an offence.

The vgilance and anti-corruption bureau did not scan the audio files as the number of files was as high as 70,000 and it would have taken months and years to scan them.

Sources said politicians, bureaucrats and some journalists were among the people whose phones had been tapped during the BJP regime.

The vigilance inquiry into the alleged phone-tapping has prima facie established that telephones of top politicians, bureaucrats, cops, realtors and journalists were intercepted in violation of the Indian Telegraph Act and Information Technology Act.