CBI scanning Gavit tapes

New Delhi, Aug 20 (UNI) With the Government promising an inquiry report in the current session of Parliament, the CBI has begun scanning the TV tapes that alleged conversation between Union Minister of State for Home Manikrao Gavit and a jailed mafia don.

According to official sources, the agency has obtained the tapes and would examine them to ascertain whether the voice on them matched with that of the minister.

The investigation started yesterday and a report would be ready soon, the sources said. At present, only the authenticity of the voice on the tape was being examined, they said, while not ruling out a probe into a conspiracy angle at a later date following the current enquiry.

The ongoing session of Parliament concludes on August 25.

The CBI action followed a directive from the Prime Minister's office to the Home Ministry to get the tapes examined. The PMO had acted on a reference by the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi had assured Parliament that the Government would probe the matter and table the inquiry report in the current session itself.

The issue had figured in Parliament following TV reports that Mr Gavit spoke to Uttar Pradesh gangster Sundar Singh Bhati regarding a land deal involving his son-in-law. The eight-time MP from Nandurbar in Maharashtra denied the charge.

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