M A I N   N E W S

Himachal Vigilance’s recordings to be analysed outside state
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 29
A special team of forensic experts from outside Himachal Pradesh will help in retrieving and analysing recordings contained in the hard discs seized from the CID and Vigilance cells, causing a flutter among the state’s top police officers who were close to the previous BJP regime. Its report will be sent outside the state for a thorough investigation.

The examination of the 12 computers that were seized from the CID and Vigilance Cells on the night of December 24 and later on December 26 is yet to begin.

These are lying locked in a room at the state Forensic Science Laboratory at Junga waiting for the deputed experts to analyse the recordings.

Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had in the past accused the previous Prem Kumar Dhumal regime of tapping his and other Congress leaders’ phones.

A decision to get a thorough probe done was hastened by attempts of a police officer to delete the recorded conversations in the technical cell of the CID on the night of December 24, a day prior to Virbhadra assuming office as Chief Minister.

“Since the expertise and facilities that are required to examine the data contained in the hard disc of the computers is not available in Himachal, these will be sent to a laboratory outside the state,” said a senior official.

Sending the hard discs to laboratories outside the state will also eliminate chances of political opponents accusing the Congress regime of acting in a biased manner.

Senior officials said that care would have to be taken to ensure that vital recordings pertaining to other crimes are not lost in this hunt for political conversations.

The CID can record conversations of individuals by intercepting their phones after seeking prior approval from Secretary, Home.

However, this is mostly done in cases of suspicion about an individual being involved in some illegal act like drug trafficking or some other crime like murder or rape.