The Indian Express regularly publishes scoops on its front page. It rarely tells you how it gets them, though. Thursday was different. The newspaper published an exclusive story revealing a Home Ministry official in charge of the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case coaching a witness, telling him which questions would be asked and how he should reply. The paper also told readers how it got the scoop.

In April, the Indian government was under fire over its unclear stance on a conference of Chinese dissidents that was supposed to take place in Dharamshala. One of the issues was why Dolkun Issa, a prominent dissident, had first been issued a visa, which was later cancelled by the home ministry.

On April 25, at around 3.45 pm, The Indian Express had called Prasad — he is Additional Secretary (Foreigners) — to ask him why the Government had denied a visa to Chinese dissident Dolkun Issa who had been issued an e-tourist visa. (Red faces in Govt…Dolkun Issa’s visa cancelled after Chinese protests, April 26, 2016).

To ensure accuracy and to be able to quote verbatim, Prasad’s remarks were recorded by this reporter.

While speaking to The Indian Express, Prasad put the reporter on hold and had another telephone conversation regarding the Ishrat missing papers probe. This conversation was also recorded by The Indian Express.

Being put on hold meant that the reporter ended up being privy to what would have otherwise been a private discussion. It also turned out that the reporter in question, Sagnik Chowdhury, was recording the call as well.

The result: A recording of a conversation where BK Prasad, the Union Home Ministry official who oversaw the investigation into missing documents in the Ishrat Jahan case – a politically controversial alleged fake encounter – telling a witness, former Home Ministry Director Ashok Kumar, in the enquiry what questions he would be asked and how he should answer.

From the Express report:

 “Aapko kehna hai ki ‘Maine ye paper nahi dekha.’ Seedhi si baat hai (You have to say, ‘I have not seen that paper.’ It’s as simple as that).”

Prasad told Kumar that the consequences of giving a different reply would be that doubts would be raised about the officer having played a role in the disappearance of the papers.
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Prasad also told the officer: “And another question will be, ‘Did anybody give you these documents to be kept separately with you?’ Aap bologe, ‘Nahi, mere ko kisi ne nahi diya.’ (You will say, ‘No, nobody gave them to me’).”

Other reports on Thursday confirmed that Prasad had submitted his report on the probe into the missing documents in the case – copies of affidavits sent to the Attorney General and submitted in the Gujarat High Court as well as correspondence about the same which went missing in 2009. Prasad's inquiry report says he failed to trace the documents and concludes that they were "removed knowingly or unknowingly, or misplaced" at the time when Congress leader P Chidambaram was Home Minister.

When contacted later by the newspaper, Prasad said that the recorded conversation "if any, would have been in the context of clarifying the nature of enquiry" and insisted that he had conducted a free and fair investigation. He also claimed that none of the officers that he quizzed after April 25 had actually answered on record saying, "I have not seen that paper."

He added:

"However, I must mention that the officers enquired by me are all senior officers and have worked in various capacities and are fully capable of answering the questions relating to this kind of probe on their own understanding."