Phone tapping - 90,000 cases in Gujarat intrigue central intelligence agencies

By Dilip -
Gujarat Police has obtained nearly 90,000 telephone call data records (CDRs) of people and entities in three months beginning January this year, raising eyebrows in central intelligence agencies about what is going on in Chief Minister Narendra Modi-ruled state to necessitate tapping.

The unusually high number of CDRs of individual and entities were obtained by Gujarat Police citing various cases against them and for investigation purposes, official sources said.
Obtaining CDRs by any enforcement agency to track movement and activities of suspected persons and entities is a very common practice in the country, but what has surprised many in central agencies was the unusually high number of CDRs over a very short period.
"We are not sure how much information Gujarat Police got from the CDRs but it was strange that such a large number of call data records were obtained in a very short period of time," an official said.

Meanwhile, the Centre will soon operationalise the Central Monitoring System (CMS) which will put an end to all unauthorised tapping of telephones. The CMS, which enables security agencies to monitor phones and internet communications of suspected persons, will ensure that monitoring of phone calls, text messages and internet use of citizens will be done only by government agencies after taking due permission from designated authority.

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