Union home ministry (MHA) may order a probe into the alleged illegal surveillance and phone tapping of a women architect in Gujarat, allegedly at the behest of Amit Shah, a close aide of BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Civil society, activists and political opponents of Modi have demanded a probe into the issue. The Gujarat government has already ordered an inquiry — to be headed by a retired judge of the Gujarat high court — into the incident.
It has been alleged that the woman architect was under surveillance by the Gujarat police at the behest of Modi’s right hand man and former state home minister Amit Shah and the whole snooping operation took place without the mandatory permission from the Centre when the woman went out of the state. It was also alleged that Amit Shah was getting the snooping done on the instructions of one “Saheb” who could be Modi himself.
Asked if Modi should face prosecution for misuse of state machinery, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Sunday said “inquiry will be conducted about all this and decision will be taken”.
“Union and state home secretaries have been authorised to take action on (illegal) snooping,” he said in Mumbai.
{{/usCountry}}“Union and state home secretaries have been authorised to take action on (illegal) snooping,” he said in Mumbai.
{{/usCountry}}MHA sources said the state home secretary can order phone tapping of a person within the state but when the surveillance is carried out in multiple states, permission of union home secretary is mandatory.