Lobbying over Bengaluru top cop's post: Telephone conversations of politicians illegally tapped

An officer of ADGP rank had, with the help of some inspectors in the technical cell of the CCB, illegally recorded telephone conversations of more than 185 people including several politicians.
Image for representational purpose only. (File photo)
Image for representational purpose only. (File photo)

BENGALURU: The phone-tapping controversy over lobbying for the post of Bengaluru city police commissioner seems to be getting murkier with an interim report on the investigation, submitted to the Director-General and Inspector General of Police, revealing that it was done at the behest of the Congress-JDS coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy.

The report reveals the names of several senior leaders from BJP, Congress and JDS, besides journalists and senior officials (see box).

An officer of ADGP rank had, with the help of some inspectors in the technical cell of the Central Crime Branch (CCB), illegally recorded telephone conversations of more than 185 people including several politicians, it said.

The interim report was submitted to DG&IGP Neelmani Raju on Monday.  Based on it, the state police chief on Tuesday is said to have summoned police commissioner Bhaskar Rao, Joint Commissioner Sandeep Patil and ADGP (intelligence) Kamal Pant, and held closed-door discussions.

According to highly placed sources, the meeting went on for over 45 minutes, during which the joint commissioner, who is heading the investigation, had only mentioned that an ADGP-rank officer was involved in the recording and leak of the audio to the media.

The joint commissioner is said to have told Neelamani Raju that the investigation should be handed over to “someone more senior” as he was “much junior” to probe an ADGP-rank officer.

“The DG&IGP then gave the report to police commissioner (Bhaskar Rao, who is also of ADGP-rank) and asked him to complete the investigation and submit a detailed report,” said the source.

The report, details of which have been accessed by The New Indian Express, says phones of many senior Congress, JDS and BJP leaders, journalists covering political beat, people close to political leaders, and IPS officers were tapped continuously for months starting from Mandya bypolls until the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Senior leader and former Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka told TNIE that the phone-tapping was done for political reasons.

“It is a serious criminal offence and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe must be ordered to bring out the truth,” he said.

“I had even told Congress leader Siddaramaiah that it is not just our (BJP leaders) phones, but his phone too was tapped by the JDS-Congress coalition government. It has been proved right as an officer, who was part of it, has turned approver and a report containing names of 300 people whose phones were tapped has been given,” he said.

According to sources close to Congress leader Siddaramaiah, “The former CM’s media adviser and another close associate’s phones were tapped as he was using those phones frequently. Phone-tapping started from the time of Lok Sabha bypolls in  Mandya, Shivamogga and Ballari shortly after the coalition government was formed in the state,” sources said.

According to a retired police officer,  illegal phone tapping is an offence though such interceptions happen often.

“You can’t disclose such information even under Section 8 (1) of the RTI Act,” he said.

Sources said the report mentions names of six inspectors from the CCB who have confessed that phones were tapped on the alleged instructions of the ADGP who was reportedly asked to pass on the information to the previous chief minister.

Several private conversations of ministers and political leaders have been recorded and have been allegedly taken on a pen drive. The drive was later handed over to an ADGP-rank officer, said a source.

However, senior JDS leader and MLC T A Saravana, who is close to Kumaraswamy, refuted the allegations against the former CM.

“Kumaraswamy had never ordered illegal phone tapping. Our government had never involved in any such illegal acts. A probe is being conducted. Let the probe bring out the truth.”

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