22 April,2011 05:43 AM IST | | Kaumudi Gurjar
The Ratnagiri police are allegedly tapping phones and scrutinising call records of leaders including those of political parties to gather crucial information related to the agitation against the proposed nuclear plant in Jaitapur.
Morbid mood: The death of Tabrez Sayekar has plunged the villagers
into a sombre mood. Pic/Jignesh Mistry
Senior leaders like B G Kolse-Patil, Justice P B Sawant and Vaishali Patil have alleged that since they are heading the protests, the police are monitoring their movements continuously through technical surveillance.
Cops evasive
When asked about phone tapping, Superintendent of Police Pradeep Raskar was evasive about the issue. "We do sometimes check the phone call records but that does not mean we do it everytime. We will comment on the phone tapping at the right time," Raskar said.
Another senior official on the condition of anonymity said that during the violent protests on Monday and Tuesday in Jaitapur and Ratnagiri, it was observed that many leaders were instructing their activists on the phone.
"It's interesting to note that Jaitapur area does not have complete mobile coverage and the places where coverage was available, were the worst affected by violence. It shows that mobile communication between the leaders and activists played a crucial role during the protests," said the officer.
Retired Justice Sawant said the police often indulged in tapping phone calls of leaders under the pretext of gathering intelligence for public interest, which may not always be the case. "In any case, it will not affect our agitation against the proposed nuclear plant," he said.
Kolse-Patil said: "A few weeks ago when we were heading for Jaitapur along with Justice Sawant, the police stopped us at the Ratnagiri outpost. It was a private trip, and nobody knew our plans. It was possible for the police to know only because they had tapped our personal phones.
"Director General of Police Ajit Parasnis has appealed to me to cancel the planned Tarapur to Jaitapur rally, but we have told him that it will happen as scheduled. The police can arrest us if they want, but we will continue the protests," said Kolse-Patil.
MiD DAY accessed the post-mortem report of Tabrez Sayekar (36) which says that only one bullet had hit him. Certain sections of the media had reported that three bullets were pumped into Tabrez, but district administration authorities issued a press release yesterday saying it was false.
