Dy CM Patil admits govt tapped Salman’s phone

Patil said as per a preliminary report by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (crime), the authorities had received a tip-off on August 27, 2001, about Salman’s alleged links with gangster Abu Salem.

‘‘The state government, after obtaining permission of competent authorities, had put the actor’s telephone under surveillance between August 27, 2001, and October 25, 2001,’’ Patil said. The interception was later discontinued, he added.

Without revealing the result of the surveillance of Salman’s telephone, Patil said after the issue was highlighted in the media, the government had obtained the tapes of the conversation and prepared a transcript.

‘‘We are examining whether the voices in the tape are genuine, whether the actor has any links with the underworld and whether he is connected with the Mumbai bomb blasts,’’ he said, ‘‘we have also sought legal advice on whether claims made during private conversations invite prosecution.’’

Patil declared that the issue was being investigated by Additional Police Commissioner K L Bishnoi and Assistant Police Commissioner T K Yengade.

The media copies of the tapes and the samples of Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai’s voices had been sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory at Chandigarh for analysis.

Patil further said that the tape given to him by BJP leader Gopinath Munde was also being examined for its authenticity.