CBI raids ex-Bengaluru Police Commissioner Alok Kumar's house in Karnataka phone tapping case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting searches at the residence and office of Bengaluru's former Police Commissioner Alok Kumar in connection with alleged phone tapping of several politicians and officers of Karnataka.

Currently, Kumar is serving as Additional Director General (ADG) of Karnataka State Reserve Police. He was appointed as the Bengaluru City Police (BCP) Commissioner on June 17, during HD Kumaraswamy's tenure.

A team of CBI officers is present at the residence of Alok Kumar. The probe agency is also carrying out searches in several other places in Bengaluru.

The illegal phone-tapping scandal came to light during the elections when an alleged phone conversation was leaked to the press in which an IPS officer was named. An FIR was lodged by the probe agency in August last year on the request of the Karnataka government against unknown public servants and private persons.

The CBI has taken over the case, which was investigated by the Cyber Crime Police Station of Bangalore, under section 72 of the Indian Technology Act, 2000 and Section 26 of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.

What is the phone-tapping case?

It was when the Karnataka government of HD Kumaraswamy had suffered turmoil, several MLAs had alleged that the chief minister and JD(S) leader was tapping the phones of his colleagues.

Top politicians, including former state CM Jagadish Shettar and AH Vishwanath, have blamed HD Kumaraswamy for phone tapping and spying on more than 300 people.

In the leaked phone tapes case, names of senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel and former PWD Minister HD Revanna of the JD(S) had popped up.

However, Kumaraswamy has rubbished the accusations and said that there was no need for him to tap the phone calls to save the government.