Bengaluru: The state government’s decision to hand over the audiogate scam probe to the CBI has rocked the state police department and sent shivers down the spines of those senior IPS officers who are allegedly involved in the scam.
Sources said that senior IPS officers Alok Kumar, Hemanth Nimbalkar and others may be called in for questioning by the CBI.
As a first step, Chief Secretary T.M. Vijaya Bhaskar will write a letter to the CBI communicating the decision of the state government. Later, the Central Bureau of Investigation will form a team and take up the investigation.
Already, DG&IGP Neelamani Raju has been presented with a preliminary report and sources said that it contains some explosive details.
The report is supposed to have pointed to the role of two senior officers, who acted on the instructions of then chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and tapped the phones of a large number of politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen and financiers to keep track of their political moves.
It is said that the recordings of phone conversations helped the then JD(S)-Congress coalition save the government on three occasions.
Before announcing the CBI probe, Mr Yediyurappa met ADGP, Law and Order, Kamal Panth and Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao.
Sources said that the CBI probe will give a chance to IPS officers, who were involved in an indirect battle for some time now, to settle scores among themselves.
The target seems to be former police commissioner Alok Kumar, the sources said.
“He may have to face serious legal issues. Other low-ranking officers involved in telephone tapping will also come under the CBI scanner. This is going to be major embarrassment for them in their careers,” they added.
Sources said that the scam could deliver a major blow to the JD(S). “When officers are grilled, they may have to name those who ordered phone tapping. The BJP is waiting for this opportunity to initiate action against former CM Kumaraswamy.”
What started as a fight between two IPS officers for the post of Bengaluru police commissioner has ended in bringing out a major scam.
