RIL wants probe into Essar tapes

Essar says victim of extortion

Reliance Industries (RIL) has sought a probe on reports that the company was a target of illegal phone-tapping along with some government officials a decade ago.

The Indian Express on Friday reported the Essar group had allegedly tapped phones of top RIL officials, various government officials and ministers between 2001 and 2006.

According to the report, the Essar Group allegedly tapped telephones of Union ministers, corporate chiefs Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani and many bureaucrats. A Reliance Industries spokesperson said, "We are shocked at reports which suggest that we have been victims of unauthorised and illegal tapping of our telephones. Conversations attributed to us are false and appear to have been doctored by someone who seeks to defame us."

According to the news report, Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyer Suren Uppal submitted a complaint on June 1, 2016, to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The report added that Uppal represents former Essar employee Albasit Khan, who claimed to have supervised the tapping operations. The Essar group said it was a victim of extortion and that it had nothing to do with the alleged tapping of phones of top Reliance and government officials. S S Khandwawala, head-security (intelligence & vigilance), Essar group, said: "Uppal has concocted a completely false and baseless story involving us in order to make extortionist demands from us in the name of an ex-employee...We intend to proceed against him to the full extent of the law unless he tenders a public apology and unconditionally withdraws these baseless allegations."

Uppal released the tapes in Delhi which alleges that Essar had tapped top RIL officials between 2001 and 2006. "We have, at all times, abided by the law of the land both, in letter and in spirit in all our actions and business activities and any suggestion of any wrongdoing is plainly false. The reports are unfortunate as they make allegations without accepting any responsibility for the veracity of the contents. We reserve our legal rights to act against this kind of sensationalism," the Reliance spokesperson said.