Businessman behind plot to access cell-phone records of VIPs: Police sources

New Delhi: A trial court in the capital has dismissed the bail petition of the Delhi police constable arrested for accessing the call record details of senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley. The bail plea was dismissed on grounds that the case did not fall within the purview of the court. Arvind Dabas was the first to be arrested for illegally accessing call records of politicians, businessmen, and other VIPs. He is in judicial custody. Three others, said to be private detectives, have also been arrested.

Meanwhile, fresh details have emerged in the snooping scandal that has sparked a political war between the government and the Opposition. Police claim that a Delhi-based businessman is behind the conspiracy and that private detectives and the constable were hired to spy on at least 15 VIPs.

Yesterday, the BJP's Venkaiah Naidu had asked in Parliament, "Is there anything for the government to hide? There is something fishy." The Opposition has accused the government of not being able to nab the person who hired the policeman and three detectives to spy on Mr Jaitley.
"The BJP will be interested in knowing if state actors were involved," senior BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy had said.

Denying any role of the establishment in the incident, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told Parliament, "This case is an attempt of the unauthorised to access call data record...it's not a case of telephone tapping."