Illegal phone tapping: Mumbai Police record Rashmi Shukla’s statement in Hyd

Shukla was summoned twice for questioning, but she cited the pandemic and her responsibilities in CRPF to express her inability to have her statement recorded. She later moved the Bombay HC against the summons, but it granted permission to the Mumbai Police to record her statement in Hyderabad

The Mumbai cyber police have recorded the statement of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rashmi Shukla in connection with the alleged illegal phone tapping and confidential report leak. Shukla, who is presently on central deputation and posted as additional director general of Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) in Hyderabad, has refuted the allegations, people aware of the matter said.

Rashmi Shukla, when she was Pune city police commissioner in 2017. (HT archive)

Shukla was summoned twice for questioning, but she cited the pandemic and her responsibilities in CRPF to express her inability to have her statement recorded. She later moved the Bombay high court against the summons, but it granted permission to the Mumbai Police to record her statement in Hyderabad.

Shukla did not respond to HT’s calls and text messages.

The cyber police on March 26 filed a case on a state intelligence department (SID) complaint against unknown persons for allegedly leaking the report submitted by Shukla, over the purported payments for transfers within the police department when she was the commissioner of intelligence in August 2020. Shukla’s report named senior politicians, middlemen, and police officers, who allegedly sought transfers and postings of their liking. The report referred to “monetary exchange” between officers and middlemen acting in close connection with politicians.

Home department officials said that the copy that was reportedly leaked was the SID’s office copy and did not bear Shukla’s signature.

Maharashtra chief secretary Sitaram Kunte submitted a report to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, detailing the circumstances in which Shukla created the report. Kunte’s report added Shukla intercepted calls of six persons in the name of “public safety” and thus “misguided the authorities”. It said no transfers of police officers took place between June 27 and September 1, 2020, the period in which the calls were intercepted.

Kunte’s report questioned whether Shukla had leaked the report. It said if that were the case then she would be liable for “strict action”. “The report leak had led to breach of privacy and defamation of the officers whose names have been mentioned in it. The deals for the transfers mentioned in it and actual transfers done by the government differ. This proves that there was no question of any scam in the transfers,” Kunte’s report said.

Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis has said Shukla sought proper permissions from the then additional chief secretary (home) and intercepted the phone calls.