Probe ordered into Antagarh tape row

A local court here has ordered the police to probe into veracity of the leaked audio tape purportedly linking former chief minister Ajit Jogi and his MLA son Amit to the alleged fixing of last year’s byelection in Antagarh Assembly constituency.

First-class judicial magistrate (FCJM) Uday Laxmi Parmar, while admitting the defamation suit filed by the senior Jogi against a national English daily which broke the story on alleged fixing of Antagarh bypolls, on Wednesday directed the Civil Lines police to probe the audio tape and submit the report by March 18.

In its direction, the court asked the police to investigate if the audio tape was genuine, and who figured in the tape.

Audio tape has to be sent to forensic science laboratory to test its veracity.

Interestingly, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader T.S. Singhdeo has earlier countered the senior Jogi’s claim that the audio tape was fabricated.

“The Truth Lab, a forensic science laboratory at Bengaluru, has already established the audio tape as genuine,” Mr Singhdeo has claimed.

However, Mr Jogi dismissed the CLP leader’s claim saying that how could be the authenticity of the audio tape was established without taking voice samples of purported participants.

Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CPCC) has earlier expelled the junior Jogi from the party for his alleged role in the poll fixing purportedly disclosed in audio tape expose, while recommending the AICC to remove the senior Jogi on similar ground.

CPCC president Bhupesh Baghel and CLP leader Mr Singhdeo were scheduled to depose before the AICC disciplinary committee on Thursday on the matter.