My phones being tapped, says Mukul Roy

Kolkata: BJP leader Mukul Roy Wednesday accused the Trinamul Congress government in West Bengal of "illegally tapping" his phones after two audio clips of his purported telephonic conversation with his party's general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya were circulated on social media.

Bhartiya Janata Party  state president Dilip Ghosh also blamed the West Bengal police for illegally tapping telephones of BJP leaders in the state.

“I have already moved the court against tapping of my phones. The matter is now sub judice. But I would say one thing that if you are tapping someone's telephone, it is totally illegal and immoral," Roy told PTI.

On Tuesday, he filed a case in Delhi High Court alleging his phone was being tapped. In one audio clip, Roy purportedly asked Vijayvargiya to speak to Bhartiya Janata Party president Amit Shah and ensure that CBI keeps a watch on four IPS officers to "scare them".

In the first audio clip, which started doing the rounds of social media about a week back, Roy purportedly asks Vijayvargiya to talk to BJP president Amit Shah and get CBI to keep a watch on “four IPS officers” and “scare” them.

“Jo char IPS hain, unpe CBI ko thoda nazar dalna hoga. Isme agar ek baar dhyan denge, toh yeh IPS log dar jayenge (CBI should keep a watch on these four IPS officers. If we focus on this, these IPS officers will get scared),” Roy purportedly tells Vijayvargiya.

Some IPS officers who are part of a special task force set up to probe the Sarada chit fund case have been on the CBI’s radar and were earlier called for questioning. In the purported conversation, Roy also says that he will send the names of two officers for being posted in the income tax department as “director (investigation) and assistant director (investigation)”. Vijayvargya also purportedly talks of a Matua leader who wants to join the BJP. The Matuas, belonging to the Scheduled Caste, are a major vote bank in the state.

In the second audio clip, which has also gone viral on social media, Roy, a former Trinamul Congress leader, purportedly told Vijayvargiya that a journalist who has done the Narada sting operation told him about a documentary that will "finish" the Trinamul Congress.

The Narada sting operation, released through a news website just before the state assembly polls in 2016, purportedly showed TMC leaders and a police officer accepting cash bribes for favours. In his purported conversation with Vijayvargiya, Roy says Samuel has asked for `2 crore for the documentary, of which `50 lakh has to be paid as advance in Hong Kong. “I am asking him to talk to you. After speaking with him, if you give the signal, then I will take action,” he purportedly tells Vijayvargiya.

The contents of the audio clips could not be immediately verified. Incidentally, a few IPS officers — both present and former — were summoned by Central Bureau of Investigation for questioning in connection with the Saradha scam.

Vijayvargiya was not immediately available for his comment. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh blamed police for illegally tapping telephones of BJP leaders in the state. “TMC cannot compete with us politically or in a democratic way. Therefore, it is stooping to this. I am aware that all our leaders’ phones are being tapped. I was not present when this conversation took place, neither my name was taken during the conversation. So it is not possible for me to make a comment on it. But it is true that police had been illegally tapping our phones, trying to malign us”, Mr Ghosh said.

When contacted ADG (law and order) Anuj Sharma said he is neither aware of any such phone tapping nor has anything to say on the issue.

Asked about the phone-tapping charge, senior TMC leader and state minister Arup Roy said: “Who is he (Roy)? What does he think of himself? Our government has better work to do than tap his phone.” Anuj Sharma, ADG (Law and Order), said: “I have no information or idea about the matter. Therefore, I cannot comment.”

Last November, Roy had filed a similar case in the Delhi High Court, alleging that his phones were being tapped by the state government. While the case was closed in December, the court said Roy could approach it again if he could gather evidence to substantiate his claim.