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Shanmugam panel submits report on phone tapping
Episode involves a police officer, several officials and politicians
Report to be discussed by Cabinet on Wednesday
THROWING LIGHT: P. Shanmugam, who conducted the inquiry into the telephone tapping episode, submitting the report to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in Chennai on Monday.
CHENNAI: The Shanmugam Commission of inquiry, which probed the phone tapping episode involving a police officer and several officials and politicians, submitted its report on Monday.
P. Shanmugam, former High Court judge, handed over the report to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at the Secretariat here.
The report is expected to be discussed at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, one official said.
The Chief Minister had announced the setting up of the Commission in the Assembly on April 15. The next day, Mr. Shanmugam, was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the reports of phone tapping involving a conversation between Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy and an Additional Director-General of Police and how a conversation between the Chief Secretary and an official found their way to the media. Later, the scope was widened. Mr. Shanmugam submitted an interim report on May 19.
The one-man Commission inquired into the origin of the transcript (that appeared in an English newspaper) besides probing the source and the agency responsible for the news item on the conversation between the two.
It was also asked to make recommendations to the State government on specific criminal action to be taken against the person or agency or both who are responsible for the transcript and also for tapping the phone.
The conversation between the Chief Secretary and Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption S.K. Upadhyay was tapped at the DVAC office.
Immediately after the tapping became public, offices of the two were debugged. In May, the Commission took away the computers of the DVAC chief and the Chief Secretary for examination.
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