Flap Over Ib Raid, Heads May Roll

A day after a headline in an English daily screamed that the Intelligence Bureau had `raided the office of the Enforcement Directorate, there were indications that the heads of some officials might roll for causing embarrassment to the government.

However, a senior government official tried to play down the controversy by saying that there was nothing unusual in the IB investigating the leak of confidential government papers. He claimed that neither home minister Indrajit Gupta nor home secretary K Padmanabhaiah were aware of IBs action.

The official also denied that IB team had `raided the ED office on Wednesday. He said the IB team was given permission by the Enforcement Directorate, which also appointed a nodal officer to co-ordinate with the IB team. The ED had specified the time at which the IB team should arrive.

He said the IB was authorised to conduct such searches and that an unnecessary controversy was being stirred over a minor issue.

This interpretation of the incident runs counter to Indrajit Guptas views on the episode. A home ministry source said the minister had taken a serious view of the episode as he was opposed to the culture of counter surveillance, especially when the government had promised to amend the Official Secrets Act and make its functioning more transparent.

This source also said some action was expected against those instrumental in placing the government in an embarrassing situation.

Investigations into the Enforcement Directorate has assumed serious proportions with the phone lines of the director and other officials being tapped. P Bezbaruah, director of the Enforcement Directorate, has been kept under constant surveillance by the IB.

Federal sleuths had questioned Bezbaruah over the manner in which he had made himself accessible to the media a few days ago. They wanted to know whether he had communicated any details relating to the various cases being investigated by the directorate.