Phone tapping a 'sting operation': Home Secretary Duggal

    New Delhi: Refuting involvement of any politician or political party in the phone tapping case, Union Home Secretary VK Duggal said on Saturday that it was a sting operation organised by a private party for monetary and other gains. Briefing reporters after receiving the latest investigation report on the case from the Delhi Police Commissioner, Duggal said: "It was a sting operation organised by three people for monetary gains". "I wish to further inform that there are no indications of any political party or political personality being involved," he added. The Union Home Secretary further clarified that the Centre, Delhi Police or the Delhi Government were not involved in any way.

   Meanwhile, Delhi Police today questioned Ashok Chaturvedi, the Chairman of Flex Industries, who is believed to have tipped off Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh about his phones being under surveillance. Earlier on Friday, Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh appeared at the Lodi Road police station here following a notice from the Delhi Police in connection with investigations into his phone tapping allegations. After his appearance before the special cell, Amar Singh said that he had no faith in Delhi Police. "On the one hand my telephone was being tapped and on the other hand they (Delhi Police) summoned me for interrogation," said had Singh. Relations between the two parties have soured following Amar Singh's allegation that Sonia Gandhi was behind the phone tapping incident. Also, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had alleged that Congress party President Sonia Gandhi had asked Government agencies to tap telephones of senior SP leaders, saying the telephones of the party members were "being tracked by the Delhi Police at the behest of 10, Janpath". Yadav had said that the conversation of Amar Singh was regularly being tapped and his phone had a direct link to the phone of Joint Commissioner (Crime), North Zone, Delhi, adding that the order for this operation was given by the Principal Secretary, Home.

   The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had, however, refuted the allegations, terming the allegations as "totally baseless". Delhi Police has so far arrested three persons in connection with the phone tapping case. The arrested persons are Bhupendra, the owner of a private detective agency, who was nabbed on December 30, Kuldeep Singh, an employee of the Reliance Infocomm, who had allegedly helped Bhupendra and an associate of Bhupendra. Delhi Police had registered a case of forgery, cheating, criminal conspiracy and other relevant sections of the Indian Telegraph Act in connection with the allegations made by Mulayam Singh Yadav.

FIR should be lodged in phone tapping case: Lalu Yadav

    Patna: Union Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav said on Saturday that either Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh or the Central Government should lodge an FIR in the phone tapping case. Asserting that he had been misquoted earlier, Lalu not only said that the tape should be made public but also that both the parties should lodge an FIR in this case. "I have been misquoted in the phone tapping case. Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh are the popular leaders of the country. They have alleged that their phones have been tapped so they should lodge an FIR against this. If the allegation is against the Central Government then the Government should lodge an FIR," said Lalu. The Minister further said that he would decide about the date of shifting from Chief Minister's residence after the Makar Sankranti. "We will decide about the date of shifting now, and Nitish Kumar should also decide about the date," he said. Samajwadi Party president and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav along with party leader Amar Singh has alleged that the Centre, on the instruction of Sonia Gandhi, was tapping their telephones. Lalu had earlier said that if their was any tape, it should be made public.

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