New Delhi, November 24: Tainted IAS officer Ravi Inder Singh had demanded “crores of rupees” from a US-based telecom firm in exchange for getting them security clearance from the home ministry.
This was revealed in phone-taps conducted for over a month on as many as five mobile phones used by Singh to talk to an associate, a West Bengal-based businessman- cum-broker named Vineet. Vineet was nabbed by the Delhi Police’s special cell on Tuesday afternoon from a five-star hotel in the Capital.
Singh, the director of the internal security division in the Union home ministry, has been accused of leaking sensitive information to telecom firms in exchange for money and sex.
The tapes revealed that Singh used various codes to get his message across to possible clients through Vineet.
“He used words such as laddoo and prasad to ask for bribes from the firms through Vineet. ‘Hardware’ meant a hotel room and ‘software’ was used when he wanted call girls,” a top source in the government revealed.
In one of his conversations with Vineet, Singh can be heard asking if “software from Ukraine” was available. “If not, send me the software you had sent before. It was good,” he tells Vineet in the tape.
Officials revealed that Singh was in touch with the American firm through Vineet, who allegedly demanded crores from the firm on his behalf. The IAS officer had cited his contacts in the home ministry and the department of telecom (DoT) to “seal the deal”.
The company had moved a proposal for foreign direct investment to implement mobile number portability, a technology that allows a mobile user to change his operator without changing the phone number.
The proposal was stuck in the home ministry for some time now, with objections that the company also operated in Pakistan.
A source said the company was finally given clearance earlier this month by the ministry, but it was “ strictly on merit” and not due to Singh’s intervention.
It is believed that it was this company that tipped off top ministry officials last month that Vineet had approached them to “ get the job done” for a hefty bribe.
The home ministry then put Vineet’s mobile phone under surveillance. The phone taps revealed that Vineet was in touch with a ministry official as well as one from the DoT. “ The phones of all relevant home ministry officials who were dealing with this file were also put under surveillance,” a source said.
He added: “ A DoT official could also be involved.” “ We had been suspecting Singh for a long time and had tapped all his phones, which have now been seized.
“ We deliberately did not send the relevant file to Singh for some days to gauge his reaction.
He was extremely anxious.
When we finally did send him the file, he immediately called up Vineet and read out the notes.
This confirmed our suspicion,” the official said.
Officers of the Intelligence Bureau and the special cell also video- recorded as many as 14 meetings of Singh with Vineet at a five- star hotel in Delhi.
Singh has now been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act but has not been charged with espionage under the Official Secrets Act, an official said. “ Singh has not been arrested so far. In fact, the Delhi Police had let him off on Monday night after questioning him. He was picked up again on Tuesday.
He is denying any wrong- doing.
We are checking Singh’s bank accounts and lockers. He could be suspended or repatriated to his parent IAS cadre of West Bengal,” the official said.
U. K. Bansal, home ministry’s secretary ( internal security), said: “ The incident is of grave concern.”
—-Agencies