NEW DELHI: The Government on Friday absolved the Minister of State for Home Manik Rao H. Gavit of all charges levelled by a private television channel over his alleged conversation with a criminal in jail.

Making an identical statement in both Houses, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the audio spectrography by experts of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory proved that the voices on the tapes did not tally with those of the individuals named in the sting operation. The experts' report was authenticated, he said.

As soon as it was tabled in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Gavit came to the House.

Mr. Patil said the broader aspects of the episode were also being looked into. The Government was contemplating bringing in legislation to keep a check on such sting operations. But this would take a little time.

Soon after the sting operation was telecast on August 13, Mr. Gavit made a statement in Parliament and claimed that he had never spoken to anyone in any jail. He said he was ready for any inquiry by an investigating agency or parliamentary committee and would refrain from discharging any executive or legislative function until the probe report was submitted.

Then it was decided that the matter be expeditiously inquired into by the Central Bureau of Investigation and a report submitted before the end of this session. The CBI collected the tapes from the television channel and recorded the statements of the persons concerned, besides that of Mr. Gavit, in the presence of independent witnesses and CFSL experts.

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L.K. Advani said it was a serious matter though most of the MPs felt sad that a member was maligned.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail