NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has slammed Delhi police for going slow in the alleged phone tapping case involving a corporate house - Essar phone tapping case - and has sought status report in the case.
The police has formed three member probe committee headed by a Special Commissioner of Police level officer. The other two officers in the panel are two Joint Commissioner of Police. The Essar group has allegedly been accused of tapping telephone conversations of some top industrialists and politicians. The central government has asked Delhi police to probe in the case.
The top police officers were tight lipped over the issue and however sources said that the team is carrying out probe into the case and verifying all the numbers that were tapped during that period.
“We are verifying each and every detail as there is involvement of big corporate houses and politicians. We are gathering all the relevant evidences in the case and when required we will take statement of the complainant Suren Uppal,” said a source, privy to the probe in the case.
Suren Uppal had sent a “caution” notices to Essar and other corporates whose phones were allegedly illegally tapped and also sent a detailed complaint to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO has since routed the complaint to the Home Ministry.
According to Uppal, between 2001 and 2006 — during one NDA and one UPA government — then Essar employee Albasit Khan allegedly tapped several telephones of VVIPs including cabinet ministers, corporate chiefs and many bureaucrats.
The conversations that were thus recorded reveal widespread peddling of influence in corridors of power, “corruption in the business milieu.
However, Khan and Essar have both denied these charges saying Uppal has concocted a story.