Wednesday, July 20 2005 20:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Maharashtra Government today (July 20, 2005) confirmed that the police had 'tapped' the phone of actor Salman Khan in 2001 after receiving information that calls were made to underworld don Abu Salem from the phone belonging to the actor.

Making a statement in the Assembly, deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said the phone of the actor was monitored between August and October 2001 after obtaining necessary approval from the competent authority.

"Information was received on August 27, 2001 that calls were being made to Salem from a phone. The phone was monitored between August 28 and October 25, 2001 after obtaining necessary approval of the competent authority. It was found that the phone belonged to Salman", the Minister said.

"An audio tape of the purported conversation between Salman and actress Aishwarya Rai, which was published in Hindustan Times and aired on TV channels, was obtained", Patil said.

"Transcripts of the conversation in the audio cassette were taken. Statements and voice samples of Salman and Aishwarya were also recorded," Patil, who also holds the Home portfolio, told the House.

"The voice samples have been sent to the Central Forensic Laboratory at Chandigarh to ascertain if the voice in the audio cassette was indeed that of Salman and Aishwarya", Patil said.

"A separate inquiry was being conducted regarding the incidents and remarks mentioned in the audio cassette and also in the statements made by Salman and Aishwarya," he said.

Legal advice would be sought to ascertain whether it was feasible to initiate legal proceedings after scrutiny of the audio cassette, printouts of the phone and statements recorded during inquiry, the Minister said.

The inquiry, conducted by Additional Police Commissioner K L Bishnoi and Assistant Police Commissioner T K Yengde, would ascertain the veracity of the tape and also seek information about links with underworld and knowledge of the Mumbai serial blasts, he said.

BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) group leader in the Assembly Gopinath Munde, who had raised the issue in the House last week, said, "It would not be proper for the Government to seek legal advice at every stage."

Patil said legal opinion was also needed to ascertain if 'banter between two friends can also constitute a crime'.

When Munde wanted to know with what the police were planning to compare the voice samples they had taken of the stars, Patil said, "They would be compared with those given by you and also the ones aired by the electronic media."

Munde had submitted a CD of the purported conversation between the two stars, to the Speaker last week.