Fabricated,says Dhumal; orders probe

Dhumal was in Delhi when two audio CDs surfaced in Shimla,allegedly sent by unknown sources,along with transcripts,which showed the CM ‘conspiring’ against his adversary and senior Congress leader Virbhadra Singh. Director General of Police (Vigilance) D S Manhas,too,featured in the conversations.

A third CD,a video disc,purportedly showed Shimla MP Virender Kashyap receiving cash from two people to “help” them in a land transaction for an educational institute in Solan.

Immediately on his return to Shimla from New Delhi on Wednesday,after attending a function at Una,Dhumal termed the circulation of the CDs as a “well-designed conspiracy” to defame him and divert the state government’s attention from probing corruption cases registered by the state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau.

“I have already ordered an independent inquiry into the matter. We will try to bring truth before the nation as to who were tapping my phones,creating fabricated CDs and then mysteriously pushing them into circulation. I will welcome if someone owns up these CDs and confronts the facts,” said the CM.

Dhumal said he had not fixed any deadline for the inquiry but it would be completed at the earliest.

He said there were strong doubts about the authenticity of the CDs,adding that the recorded conversations were mostly without a sequence,continuity and clarity.

About the video CD,Dhumal said: “Kashyap had already got an FIR registered in April 2009. The police are investigating into the case and the persons involved will soon be identified.”

Asked about the charges of phone tapping levelled by Union Minister for Steel Virbhadra Singh,the CM said: “I never gave any orders to tap his phone. This is a baseless charge.”

Dhumal also released a letter dated August 29,2009,which he had written to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh,suggesting an inquiry by any central agency. “Later,when Congress MLAs raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha,I put the facts straight as no attempt was ever made to tap telephones of Virbhadra Singh. I have even asked to tell me the names of officials (in the police) if they indulged in

tapping of phones. The government is ready to act against such officials,” he said.

The CM refused to comment on the possibility of the role of his political rivals in the preparation of the CDs.

To a specific question about the possibility of enacting a law to deal with cases of phone tapping,Dhumal said: “We can look into such possibilities.”

Voice in CDs could be of a mimicry artiste: CM

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal wondered if the voice in the audio CDs could be that of a mimicry artiste who imitated his voice to prepare the “fabricated CD”. “This is quite a possibility and I believe the inquiry will be able to help us reach a conclusion at the earliest,” he added.

Manhas speaks out

Director General of Police (Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau) D S Manhas,who was also allegedly caught on one of the audio-CDs in conversation with Dhumal,denied having ever had such a conversation with the CM. “The alleged conversation has never taken place between me and the CM on these issues. A mere look at the transcript will show disconnection,discontext,fabrication,unnaturalness and creation of craft with ulterior motives,” he added. Manhas hailed the inquiry ordered by the CM.