Ranchi, Jan. 12: A former chief secretary had summoned the special branch investigators to find out if hidden transmitters had been planted in the official chamber.

The bureaucrat, who does not wish to be named, suspected that someone was eavesdropping on conversations taking place within the chamber. No snooping device was found at the chamber, but the retired official still wonders how confidential conversations got leaked.

In the wake of the phone-tapping controversy generated by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh?s allegations, some senior officials of the Jharkhand government have been avoiding confidential conversations on their phones ? landline and mobile ? because they fear their calls are being intercepted.

Listening into telephone conversations by third parties is as old as telephony itself, officials said, but added that either the service providers or the police can tap since it is practically impossible for third parties to intercept the highly sophisticated communication system that transmits messages in encrypted forms.

The Indian Telegraph Act says any interception can be done only on the instruction of an officer of the rank of home secretary or DIG and above of the intelligence bureau, but, sources said, the rules are not always followed. Basic phones can be tapped by hooking a parallel connection, but that is a difficult procedure, they added.

Officials only doubt, but Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee chief Pradeep Balmuchu and former leader of Opposition Stephen Marandi are sure their phones were tapped at the time of government formation in Jharkhand in March last year. Claiming he has observed that his conversations are often leaked, Balmuchu does not rule out the possibility of his phone being under surveillance even now.

?The chief minister has admitted to us that he knew the moves of the Congress in advance at the time of government formation last year. How is it possible? Either we had a black sheep among us, which seems improbable, or the phones were being tapped,? Balmuchu said.

Though unsure if his phone has been bugged now, Marandi is confident that the all prominent UPA leaders were under communication surveillance by the police during the government formation. ?Let alone the Opposition, the police were also tapping the phones of the five Independents ? Sudesh Mahto, Madhu Koda, Chandraprakash Choudhary, Anosh Ekka and Harinarayan Rai,? he said.

Ekka, however, rubbished the allegations, describing them as ?frustrated statements? of the Opposition.