40,000 phones bugged in Delhi from 2004 to 2006

Police and central agencies have ordered tapping of more than 40,000 telephones in Delhi alone over the past two years.

Police and central agencies have ordered tapping of more than 40,000 telephones in Delhi alone over the past two years, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley said on Monday quoting figures received in response to a petition under Right to Information Act.

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Jaitley, who had filed the petition with the government under the RTI, told reporters in New Delhi that the figure he received in response to his plea on the extent of telephone surveillance in Delhi did not include tapping ordered by state agencies.

"It was startling to discover that 40,456 telephones were tapped in Delhi alone from May 2004 to April 2006. I had an impression that the figure could be between 400 and 500," Jaitley said.

He claimed he did not seek information regarding the people whose phones were tapped.