CBI raids ex-Bengaluru top cop in phone tapping case

Almost a month after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case of alleged illegal phone tapping in Karnataka, the agency on Thursday carried out searches at the residence of senior IPS officer Alok Kumar.

According to a CBI source, over 20 CBI officials arrived at the residence of the former Bengaluru Commissioner at 7 a.m. in Adugodi area here and started interrogating him on the 2017-2019 episode, in which phones of senior IPS officer Bhaskar Rao, MLAs, political leaders and ministers were allegedly tapped during the tenure of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

According to the CBI source, Kumar handed over the phone calls recordings in a pen drive to Kumaraswamy when his government was at stake due to several of his Janata Dal-Secular and Congress party MLAs defecting to BJP after resigning in late June and July.

Kumaraswamy's 14 month old Congress-JD-S government lost power in July after it failed to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly.

After Yeddyurappa became Chief Minister, he removed Kumar as Bengaluru Police Commissioner and ordered a CBI probe.

Kumar is currently heading the Karnataka State Reserve Police as ADGP.IANS