Thiruvananthapuram: State police chief Loknath Behera is likely to order a probe into the phone tapping and e-mail snooping petition of Vigilance director Jacob Thomas. Mr. Behera told DC that he would take a decision on the matter as soon as he reached office. “Other than through media reports, I am not aware if the Vigilance director sent a petition to me as I was out of Thiruvananthauram,” he said. “If there is indeed such a petition, necessary action will be initiated." Meanwhile, sources close to Dr Thomas said that the petition was sent through one of his staff on Saturday itself. Since the petitioner is a DGP, the probe is likely to be handed over to a high ranking officer.
Police sources said that though the permission from the home secretary was mandatory for formally tapping phone calls, officers in the rank of inspector-general and above are entitled to tap phones without advance sanction in case of emergency situations, provided they obtain retrospective sanction from the home secretary. The chance for misusing such provisions was very remote, they said. However, there are software interceptors for illegal phone tapping. Similarly software tools for illegal email snooping was also available these days. The state police had faced allegations of illegally tapping phone calls earlier, too.
