After oil ministry espionage, govt to install CCTV cameras in ministry corridors

In the aftermath of the Petroleum Ministry espionage case where several crucial documents were leaked, the government is planning to install CCTV cameras in the corridors of several ministries. [caption id=“attachment_2115617” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] CCTVs will be installed in the ministries of Home, Defence, Telecom, Finance, Power, Coal, Environment and Petroleum, according to an _ Economic Times report._The report also said that a ban will be imposed on entry into the ministry offices after office hours and only those will authorisation from superior officers will be allowed inside. “We now have a biometric aadhaar based biometric system to record entry and exit timings of government officials — proper monitoring of the same could itself go a long way in stopping such incidents,” ET quoted a senior DoPT official as saying. This move by the government comes after the Delhi Polcie arrested 12 persons for allegedly leaking confidential government documents to certain independent consultants and energy companies in what could be a case of corporate espionage. Rakesh Kumar, 30, Lalta Prasad, 36 - both brothers and residents of Delhi, and Raj Kumar Chaubey, 39, a resident of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, were held red-handed with photocopies of some secret documents in Shastri Bhawan Feb 17. Based on information provided by them, government employees Asharam, 58, and Ishwar Singh, 56 were also arrested. They were part of the multi-tasking staff (MTS) in Shastri Bhawan. Santanu Saikia, the journalist accused in the case, had also claimed that it was a Rs 10,000 crore scam. Saikia, a former journalist, now running an energy consultant running a website, had claimed to reporters outside an Crime Branch office that it was a Rs 10,000 crore scam, which he was trying to uncover. “Please quote me,” he had said as policemen took him in for interrogation. The Delhi police had also said that documents recovered from the five corporate executives, arrested in the case, are related to “national security”. “National interest was taken for a ride in the case. Documents related to national security have also been recovered. This may attract charges under the Official Secrets Act,” the police had told the court. The police has raided offices of corporate houses like RIL, Essar group and questioned officials from other organisations like Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), Essar Group and Cairn India over the case. (With inputs from PTI)