“Planted adhesives” in the finance minister’s office were nothing more than “chewing gum”

NEW DELHI: The Intelligence Bureau concluded, after an in-depth forensic and technical examination, that “planted adhesives” in the finance minister’s office were nothing more than “chewing gum” in contrast to the Central Board of Direct Taxes claim that there were tiny devices in the office, which were pasted and then pulled out.

A TV report said, the UPA will not probe into the Pranab Mukherjee bugging incident as the alliance said it wasn’t required with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) giving it a clean chit.

Earlier September 7, 2010, the Union finance minister had written to the prime minister about a possible security breach in his office.

Pranab Mukherjee in his communication to Singh asked him to order a secret inquiry into the presence of “planted adhesives” in 16 key locations of the minister and his aides, one of them being his North Block office, which he refered to as a “serious breach of security”.