Ratan Tata aboard the F-16 he flew in Bangalore. (PTI)

Mumbai, Feb. 8: A former employee of VSNL, now run by the Tatas, has claimed that he has received money from “contacts” allegedly linked to Reliance Communications for passing on confidential corporate information.

Prashant Indulkar, a former secretary to the VSNL managing director, has been in police custody for purported embezzlement of funds.

Corporate circles in Mumbai were abuzz over the last few days that the case goes far beyond funds misappropriation and corporate espionage could be involved.

Today, the police made the first statement on record on the possibility of the spying angle.

“He (Indulkar) has told a local court that he passed on sensitive information to Gaurav Wahi of R-Com over the past three months and was paid Rs 40,000 in cash for his services,” assistant commissioner of police S. Bhange told The Telegraph.

Wahi, who works with the corporate communications wing of the Anil Ambani-owned R-Com, was questioned by the police yesterday and has denied the charge, Bhange said. Wahi used to work with VSNL earlier.

Along with Wahi, another R-Com employee was questioned. “They have said they knew Indulkar socially as Wahi and he are former colleagues,” Bhange said.

Indulkar has told the police that he received the money — a meagre amount, considering the issues at stake — in instalments but he has not disclosed who paid him or when the cash exchanged hands.

Speaking for R-Com, the corporate communications head of Reliance Capital, Sharad Goel, said: “ADAG (Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group) has no comments to make on the subject.”

The Tatas and R-Com are competitors in telecom and both are now in the race for Sri Lanka’s fifth GSM-based mobile operator licence.

A VSNL spokesperson said the stolen data pertain to the new business model for Sri Lanka and some other business decisions.

“VSNL has been in Sri Lanka since 2003. Indulkar passed on very sensitive information based on decisions taken by the VSNL board on a change in the company’s business model in the country, along with some details of acquisition of Swedish telecom company Suntel, a fixed line operator in Sri Lanka,” Rashmi Naik of Vaishnavi Communications said on behalf of VSNL.

Bhange said Indulkar’s computer has gone for forensic analysis. Till this evening, the formal charge against Indulkar has been confined to siphoning off Rs 8.7 lakh from VSNL.