<p>Mukherjee on Tuesday clarified that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had looked into the issue and found nothing. Speaking to newspersons he said: “I would like to clarify that Intelligence Bureau probed the case and found nothing.”<br /><br />According to a front page report in a prominent English daily, on September 7, 2010, the finance minister wrote to the prime minister asking him to order a “secret inquiry” about the presence of “planted adhesives” in 16 key locations in his office.<br /><br />These locations included the office of Mukherjee himself, the office of his adviser, the office of his private secretary Manoj Pant, and two conference rooms used by the finance minister.<br />However, in his letter to the prime minister, Mukherjee mentioned that no “live microphone or recording devices were found.”<br /><br />According to the IB, a government forensic lab concluded that these adhesives were a “sort of chewing gum” and were apparently left by “the cleaning staff” of the finance ministry, the IB sought to say. <br /><br />This conclusion is, however, not accepted by other investigative agencies. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (investigation), which has also conducted a thorough probe, described the substances in the 16 locations as “plantable adhesives,” the report added.<br /></p>
<p>Mukherjee on Tuesday clarified that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had looked into the issue and found nothing. Speaking to newspersons he said: “I would like to clarify that Intelligence Bureau probed the case and found nothing.”<br /><br />According to a front page report in a prominent English daily, on September 7, 2010, the finance minister wrote to the prime minister asking him to order a “secret inquiry” about the presence of “planted adhesives” in 16 key locations in his office.<br /><br />These locations included the office of Mukherjee himself, the office of his adviser, the office of his private secretary Manoj Pant, and two conference rooms used by the finance minister.<br />However, in his letter to the prime minister, Mukherjee mentioned that no “live microphone or recording devices were found.”<br /><br />According to the IB, a government forensic lab concluded that these adhesives were a “sort of chewing gum” and were apparently left by “the cleaning staff” of the finance ministry, the IB sought to say. <br /><br />This conclusion is, however, not accepted by other investigative agencies. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (investigation), which has also conducted a thorough probe, described the substances in the 16 locations as “plantable adhesives,” the report added.<br /></p>
