http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013112520131125014513406b6e6a879/Tapping-could-lead-to-trouble-cops-had-warned-Modi-govt.html
Tapping could lead to trouble, cops had warned Modi govt
Fresh trouble brews for the govt as papers available with Mirror shows
babus and officers in the intelligence bureau had proposed a code on phone
tapping, but Amit Shah cold-shouldered the idea; he kept ordering
interception of phones of politicians, bureaucrats, top cops and journos
Deepal Trivedi
Posted On Monday, November 25, 2013 at 01:45:07 AM
*Amit Shah*
Much before the controversy of snooping on a young architect and a senior
IAS officer in Gujarat was exposed, the State Intelligence Bureau had drawn
the attention of Narendra Modi government about rampant state-sponsored
phone tapping and how it could land the government in a controversy.
The bureau had apprehended “trouble and controversies in future” in an
official letter and demanded a strict phone interception policy. The Modi
government could be in fresh trouble with this official letter by senior
IPS officers which blows the lid on illegal phone-tapping by the police in
Gujarat and an urgent need to check the menace.
Senior bureaucrats and police officers in Gujarat associated with the
intelligence bureau had discussed the issue and worked at drafting a
fool-proof phone interception policy. The Draft Code (a copy is with
Mirror) aimed at streamlining phone-tapping was prepared after studying
Indian, American and British models of regulations. But it remained a
cosmetic exercise. The state home department shelved the proposal.
*‘SHAH COLD TO PROPOSAL’ *
Sources confirm former minister of state for home Amit Shah was not
reportedly interested in implementing the code suggested by the
intelligence bureau that would have legally monitored and sanctioned all
phone-tapping requests.
“I will soon expose how the then minister of state Amit Shah gave regular
orders to intercept phones of political rivals, private citizens and even
journalists,” an IPS officer told Mirror adding that Modi government wanted
to have a hawk’s eye on all developments in the state.
“Besides political rivals, the government was keen to know what journalists
and media barons in the state were up to and their mindsets,” he claimed.
He added Shah’s orders for phone tapping were usually laced with the prefix
“saheb wants it”.
* LETTER CITES FIVE EXAMPLES OF TAPPING *
Documents with Mirror reveal that the then additional director general of
police (intelligence) J Mohapatra in his letter dated NG0/473 on July 13,
2004 wrote to the principal secretary how there were examples of Gujarat
police indulging in illegal phone interception. He gave five illustrations
also of top offices and officers “flagrantly violating set rules and
indulging in phone tapping”.
Besides Anti-Terrorist Squad, whose requirement could have been justified
legally, there were at least two district superintendents of police who
regularly indulged in phone tapping, he said in the letter. Quoting from
the letter, Mohapatra wrote, “(names withheld by Mirror) ……have resorted to
telephone interception in flagrant disregard to provisions/rules and
guidelines for the same.
It is shocking to know that the concerned officers have blatantly abused
the provisions of the Rule 419(A) of the Indian Telegraph (First Amendment)
Rules, 1999 as neither they had obtained requisite confirmation about it
from the Home Secretary within 15 days nor informed details of (i)
intercepted communications, (ii) extent of its use, (iii) number of persons
to whom the material was disclosed, (iv) extent to which the material was
copied and (v) number of copies made as mandated under Rule 419A of the
Indian Telegraph (First Amendment) Rules, 1999.”
*DRAFT CODE GATHERING DUST SINCE 2005 *
This concern was expressed much before surveillance on a young architect
and a senior IAS officer was ordered by Gujarat government. The IB then
spent more than nine months formulating a draft code for telephone tapping.
The draft code was prepared by the intelligence department (confidential
letter number No. E-1/Tele. Tap./496/2004) but is gathering dust since
April 21, 2005.
Gujarat government has continued to indulge in illegal phone tapping as
alleged by its own officers. These included police officers not in good
books of the state government, politicians from the BJP and the Congress
and even media persons, says former intelligence bureau chief R B
Sreekumar.
*‘COPS VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTION’ *
The official letter categorically stated, “To avoid controversies and
allegations in future, we should ensure that power of telephone
interception is not exercised in an arbitrary, freakish and bizarre manner
as it is happening right now”.
The forwarding letter of the draft code said Gujarat cops violated rules
enshrined in the constitution and abused privacy of individuals by
resorting to illegal phone tapping. “It is felt that we must codify the
practice of interception of communication in detail,” the letter said,
recommending a written code to avoid “privacy abuse by law enforcement
agencies” in Gujarat.
*Government had allegedly snooped on IAS officer Pradeep Sharma*
* MISUSE OF POWER SHOCKED TOP COPS *
Snooping is so common in Gujarat that former director general of police
Amitabh Pathak had made it public on May 31, 2013 that he was shocked to
learn that from May to December 2012, Gujarat police had obtained call
detail records (CDR) of 93,000 mobile owners without his knowledge or
following legal procedure.
City Commissioner of Police and Additional DGP (intel) Shivanand Jha
admitted that on a daily basis Gujarat cops obtained over 550 CDR. But he
has now made it mandatory that only top police officers, including those at
the level of DCP (crime) or joint commissioner of police, and in
exceptional cases, senior police officers only, can ask for CDR. “This is
because in the past we found that there were possibilities that CDR
information could have been misused”.
However, police sources told Mirror that despite commendable initiative
taken by Jha, a select group of cops either for their own vested interest
or as instructed by political powers arbitrarily get CDRs and most private
cell operators co-operate with the police just to be in their good books.
It must be noted that in the past Parliament had been stalled for three
days after it was exposed that Arun Jatiley’s CDR had been illegally
accessed.
“Phone calls of politicians including a few from the BJP and at least eight
journalists were being regularly intercepted,” a senior IPS officer, then
close to Amit Shah and now waging a battle against him after being named in
a fake encounter told this newspaper, claiming that the government was keen
to keep a hawk’s eye on all those “ideologically poised against the
government”.
Sreekumar, too, said he had been given the task of monitoring BJP leader
Haren Pandya’s calls. A former minister, Haren fell out with Modi and was
assassinated in 2003. In the case of the young architect and senior IAS
officer Pradeep Sharma, who were being snooped upon by Gujarat government
in August 2009, permission from the Union home secretary was required,
especially because one of the phones of the woman was registered in
Bengaluru. However, no such permission was obtained.
*ALL ABOUT PHONE TAPPING *
Illegal phone tapping could invite three years of imprisonment under
Section 26 (b) of the Indian Telegraph Act. The aggrieved person can file
an FIR and also move the Human Rights Commission as unauthorised tapping is
violation of right to privacy.
Tapping can be allowed only in cases of suspected terror-related activity
or an event/ development that endangers national security. Phone tapping
can be permitted for income-tax purpose. Phone tapping cannot be done to
intrude anyone’s privacy or to find out details about rivals and
competitors.
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