The state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has registered a case in the alleged phone tapping case against unknown person under Section 26 of the Indian Telegraph Act. Case was initiated after the Home Department gave a nod for the formal registration of a case.
The state Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau had completed the probe in phone tapping case earlier this month and recommended registration of FIR against the erring officials and submitted the report to the government.
The FIR was registered after the enquiry report was discussed and perused by the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who directed that appropriate action be taken in specific cases and “no person guilty of illegal tapping and intrusion into privacy of individual should be spared”.
The vigilance enquiry report had also suggested registration of FIR for further investigation into the matter. After the FIR, normal procedure of investigation in criminal case would be followed and cases against specific persons would be registered on the basis of findings of investigations.
It’s learned that the FIR does not mention any individual and it was only after the investigation was over that responsibility would be fixed and those allegedly involved in it would be named. It’s speculating that Vigilance Bureau would question all those who had manned the Technical Cell of the CID through which the surveillance was being done. Some of the police officers who were posted in the CID could also be questioned with regard to the alleged phone tapping.
The Vigilance Bureau in its detailed report said there had been violation of the Indian Telegraph and Information Technology Act and phones were tapped illegally without authorisation from competent authority, permission for tapping the phones of some people had been taken repeatedly on flimsy grounds. In its report, Vigilance also pointed out that certain telephone numbers interceptions were carried on beyond the authorisation period. The inquiry into the phone taping is likely to be speeded up in the coming days.
After resuming power in state in December last year, Congress led state government had seized hard discs of CID and Vigilance computers. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has already made his intension clear and promised to take tough action against violators. From past five months Congress leaders were regularly raising phone tapping issue and even in Mandi parliamentary by-poll party had made main poll agenda against BJP in its campaign.
