Chandigarh, January 17
If you thought only James Bond carries mind-boggling hi-tech gadgets, think again. The Punjab government wants something better than the good old “007”, the worlds’ charismatic superspy.

The government’s controller of stores, which works under the department of industries, last Tuesday, ordered purchase of sophisticated surveillance, tracking and other equipment to prevent tapping of phones. Similar gadgets are used by internal and external intelligence agencies of various countries. Sources said the controller of stores was asked by the state Home Department, headed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, to make the purchase. It is not known if the gadgets are to be given to the state’s intelligence wing, the Chief Minister’s security or other wing.

The order, includes two types of camera virtually invisible to the naked eye. The government wants a video camera fitted with pen. The second camera looks like a button of a shirt or a coat. In case of the button camera the government is looking to buy a “BU 10” type wireless camera. The person wearing the camera in the button will not be carrying any recorder on him and nothing is visible. The recording is possible through a remote unit that can be located up to 100 metres from the button camera. The camera is shaped like a button with four holes for sewing the button and even comes with 10 spare buttons so that all buttons of a shirt or coat look alike.

The government will also buy a bug-deactivator and “tap nullifier”. In common parlance the bug deactivator will not allow anyone to bug a telephone line or a room. Hi-tech bug activators available in the international market deactivate all known wire-tapping devices. The tap nullifier on the other hand, goes one step ahead. This is used to stop phone tapping, if any.

The tap nullifiers alert the user even if an extension of land line is also “picked-up”. Routing calls through this device allows the users to make calls in ‘normal’ or ‘secure’ mode. It also jams any listening devices.

The order list also has the government buying a radio frequency detector used to detect any device which works on radio waves, may be a mobile phone, wireless sets and remote controlled explosive devices. Other items which the government is buying are devices called “digital tactical pocket receiver” and digital audio transmitter. Using these, a conversation can be conveyed using the transmitter to the pocket receiver, which may be located at a distance. The government is also buying a pocket sized, digital audio-video recorder, dome cameras that look like wall mounted decorations, a C-mount camera, a four channel video recorder and also a “round shape digital audio recorder”.