Shimla, July 21
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh has given his assent to prosecute former Director General of Police ID Bhandari in the alleged phone tapping case, in which a chargesheet is ready to be put up in court.

Sources confirmed that Virbhadra granted approval to the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau on Saturday for prosecuting Bhandari, who is one of the accused in the alleged phone tapping case. The sanction has been given under Section 197 of the CrPC to prosecute Bhandari and the chargesheet had been finalised and submitted to the Home in May.

Sources said the number of illegal interceptions between July 2012 and December 2012, for which record was available, has been found to be below 20. However, the biggest violation of Section 26 of the Indian Telegraph Act was the retention of conversation of some of the important dignitaries in a pen drive that was kept locked in an office cupboard for almost three years, which amounts to a serious offence.

Bhandari, who retired in April, is the lone officer who is being prosecuted and being held liable for the illegal interceptions and more importantly retention of conversation, which has not been used as evidence in any court of law. The Indian Telegraph Act makes it clear that the onus of ensuring that there is no violation of the norms will lie on the Nodal Officer, who is an Inspector General-rank officer.

While in opposition, Virbhadra had accused the then BJP regime of intercepting and recording the conversation of Congress leaders, bureaucrats and others. He had even accused the state CID of trying to place a bugging device in his Himachal Bhawan room while he was the Union Minister for Steel. Bhandari’s name also figures in another FIR registered in the bugging case along with retired DGP DS Manhas.

After the filing of the FIR in the alleged phone tapping case, Bhandari was removed from the DGP’s post and made in-charge of Home Guards and Fire Services, a post he continued to hold till his retirement. Bhandari, on the other hand, had denied any involvement in the case.