Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, according to media reports, was informed by a Deputy Inspector of Police (DIG) of J&K Police that his phones were being tapped by the controversial Technical Support Division (TSD) of Army created by the former Army Chief Gen V K Singh. The Chief Minister, according to sources, had immediately changed his cell numbers. The report about the snooping of Chief Minister’s phones was first published in The Indian Express. The report said the DIG of the JK Police informed Chief Minister that the TSD had allegedly tapped his and other telephones in 2011, during the standoff between the Army and the Omar Abdullah government over the revocation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Gen Sigh, however, claimed that the entire report was fabricated with the DIG and a liaison unit (LU) of military intelligence working in tandem to discredit him. Highly places sources in police said that it was DIG Farooq Khan, who informed Chief Minister about phone tapping. Khan was DIG Jammu and had detected the surveillance equipment at two places - near Sunjwan Army camp and in a private house rented by TSD in a housing colony at Channi Himmat in Jammu. “Chief Minister changed his cell numbers soon after he was informed about phone tapping,” sources said. They said later the TSD sleuths discarded the surveillance equipment by throwing the same into river Chenab. General V K Singh said the DIG in question was inimical to the army because “we have been pressing for action to be taken against him for his role in the March 2000 Pathribal fake encounter. Five of our men are being prosecuted for that incident but this DIG, who as the then SSP Anantnag provided the information and participated in the operation is scot-free.” However, DIG Farooq Khan told a Chennai based newspaper that the five army men were held guilty by none other than the CBI, over which a police officer like him has no control. “As for the General’s accusations about an LU of the army giving us information, all I would like to say is that it is too sensitive a matter for me to comment on. Let there be an inquiry into it to establish the truth.” Pertinently, in its report submitted to the Defence Ministry, the Army has alleged that TSD was involved in carrying out unauthorized operations and financial wrongdoings. The unit has also been accused of creating and funding NGOs to fight cases against senior serving Army officers such as Gen Bikram Singh to prevent him from becoming the Army Chief after Gen VK Singh. TSD unit was also working more in Kashmir than in Jammu, authoritative sources told Greater Kashmir on the basis of anonymity. Unlike other intelligence units of Army, TSD was under the direct control of Army Headquarters in New Delhi. “It had no links with people in Srinagar-based 15 Corps. It was out of glare of the officers and the management in the most active Army Corps of the country,” they have added.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 01:39:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015