Stolen ICMR data 'not sensitive'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 1. The Government today sought to allay apprehensions over the theft from the headquarters of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) of some computer hard discs containing epidemiological and other data on several diseases, including HIV/AIDS, plague, malaria, and tuberculosis.

Mr. Javed A.Chowdhury, Union Health Secretary, said there was absolutely no need for any fear whether data had been stolen for being passed on to foreign agencies for biological warfare research.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the data were not of sensitive nature. They were already available in the public domain.

The theft appeared to have been committed for the hard discs and not for the data. Police investigation is on.

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Section  : National
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