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Secret info leak to telco: IAS officer grilled

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CIOL Bureau
New Update

NEW DELHI, INDIA: A senior Home Ministry official detained for allegedly leaking sensitive information of commercial interest to some private firms was being questioned Tuesday, officials said, adding that he had not been arrested.

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Police sources said the accused West Bengal cadre civil service officer, Ravi Inder Singh, director internal security in the Home Ministry was allowed to go after questioning Monday night and was detained again Tuesday for further interrogation.

Singh, a 1994 batch officer, was in February this year posted as director, internal security. He was looking after a division that among other things handles the row over BlackBerry.

The sources said his property and bank balance were being checked to see if he had accumulated wealth beyond known sources of income.

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"He has mishandled information that could be of commercial value. This is corporate snooping and clear violation of conduct rules. But it has nothing to do with national security,"  the Home Ministry official said.

Meanwhile, police have also arrested a close associate of Singh in connection with the case. Police picked up a businessman from West Bengal, who was allegedly playing a broker for Singh in striking a deal with a telecom company,  the official added.

The government wants access to BlackBerry phone codes that would enable the security agencies to intercept corporate e-mails and chat services. This is being done to keep track of terrorists using BlackBerry messenger and e-mail services. However, it was not known if the accused had leaked the information to the BlackBerry makers in particular.

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