Infocomm staff tapping my phone, says Anil

Rajya Sabha MP and Reliance Vice-Chairman Anil Ambani has sought a government probe into the "tapping of his phones by unscrupulous individuals" working for Reliance Infocomm""which is headed by his elder brother Mukesh""even as the camps of the two brothers are negotiating a settlement to resolve their ownership dispute.

The mastermind of "this criminal operation, I am led to believe by reliable sources, is a director of Reliance Infocomm", Anil Ambani has said in a letter written to Home Minister Shivraj Patil, in which he has named the director.

Reliance Infocomm, however, today termed as "baseless and malicious" the allegation of phone tapping made by Anil Ambani.

"We are shocked about the reports in a certain section of the media about a letter allegedly written by Anil Ambani to the home minister seeking a probe into alleged tapping of his and his personal staff's phones," Reliance Infocomm said in a statement.

The statement said Reliance Infocomm "categorically denies" any attempt by the company or its officials to tap anyone's phone, much less that of Anil Ambani or his office.

The government is believed to have forwarded the letter to intelligence agencies for initial inquiry. The Union home ministry had last month extended security cover to Anil Ambani after he complained of receiving threatening calls.

In his communication, Anil Ambani said the director concerned was a "directly affected party" in any family settlement that took place over the coming months on issues that had been widely reported in the media.

Anil Ambani also named two top executives of the Reliance group, accusing them of assisting the director. Stating that "their action, if true", constituted an unprecedented and criminal invasion of privacy and gross violation of his constitutional rights, both as an elected member of Parliament and a private citizen, Anil Ambani said, "In view of the grave and shocking nature of the charges, I would urge you to order an urgent official inquiry into the matter by a competent government agency."

Amid reports that Anil Ambani may get Reliance Infocomm, Reliance Energy and Reliance Capital as part of the settlement between the brothers, the latest development may cast a shadow on the negotiation process.

He said people involved in the tapping of his mobile and land-line phones had, he was given to understand, imported GSM chip cloning machines and other tapping equipment available for sale in Israel and other countries.

"Using this equipment, directly and through privately hired parties, these unscrupulous elements have cloned GSM chips of my numbers as well as those numbers being used by my personal staff," Anil Ambani said in a recent communication to Patil.