New Delhi, July 27: The CBI has filed a chargesheet against two Tehelka reporters including its Editor (investigations) Anirudh Bahal, two officials of Home Ministry and Buffalo Networks, which owned the website in an official secrets act case. The CBI filed the complaint against Bahal, Mathew Samuel, director in Home Ministry Thomas Mathew and section officer Neeraj Kumar in the chief metropolitan magistrate's court recently who after taking its congnizance posted the matter for for hearing on August 25. According to the CBI complaint, Kumar, Mathew, Bahal and Samuel allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to obtain secret documents which were exhibited on the website, Tehelka.Com" on October 9, 2000. Giving the sequence of events, CBI said joint secretary in Home Ministry had ordered an inquiry by Intelligence Bureau after the webiste had put out a story "are Dutch innocent" which contained information allegedly obtained from a secret file bearing number 11011/40/99, "Dutch interest in India's fringe politics".
Investigations disclosed that on October 9, the minutes of meeting regarding the Dutch file appeared almost verbatim on the news portal which contained other details as well.

The then Dutch ambassdor Peter Loch had protested to joint secretary (east west) in External Affairs Ministry prompting a thorough inquiry.

Bureau Report.