The Crime Investigation Department of the Andhra Pradesh Police has claimed that it has secured clinching evidence about the tampering of the computer and laptop of the former State Election Commissioner Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, through which the latter had purportedly written a letter to Home Secretary on March 18.
Preliminary investigation on the basis of a complaint lodged by Member of Parliament Y. Vijaya Sai Reddy that the letter could have been forged, reportedly revealed that the desktop computer, laptop and the pen drive used to transmit the letter had been allegedly tampered with.
“We have found that the laptop purportedly used by the then SEC to draft the letter, the desktop and the pen drive have been tampered with. The laptop has been formatted several times and the pen drive smashed physically. All this points to suspicion that the letter that had a signature of then SEC could have been come from outside the office,” said Additional Director-General, CID, P.V. Sunil Kumar.
The CID-AP which began investigating after a complaint was lodged by Mr. Reddy, called Assistant Secretary, SEC, K. Samba Murthy and recorded his statements.
According to Mr. Murthy, the then SEC had asked for the email address of the Home Secretary on March 17. Soon after the Supreme Court delivered the verdict upholding the SEC’s decision to postpone the elections on March 18, the then SEC dictated a five-page letter to Mr. Murthy, who typed the letter in a laptop. The letter was transferred to a desktop using a pen drive and a print out of the letter was taken. The SEC signed on the letter and sent the scanned copy of the letter through email from his mobile phone.
But during the investigation, the CID found that the file on the desktop had been erased, the laptop has been allegedly formatted several times and the pen drive destroyed.
Mr. Kumar added that all the three items would be sent for forensic investigation and action would be taken on the basis of forensic evidence.
