Rashmi Shukla “breached the trust”, responds Maharashtra govt

Maharashtra housing minister Jitendra Awhad on Wednesday said that the former state Commissioner of Intelligence Rashmi Shukla did not have permission to intercept phones calls to collect intelligence that formed the basis of the report on the alleged money for transfer scam in the state police department.

Maharashtra housing minister Jitendra Awhad on Wednesday said that the former state Commissioner of Intelligence Rashmi Shukla did not have permission to intercept phones calls to collect intelligence that formed the basis of the report on the alleged money for transfer scam in the state police department.

Maharashtra housing minister Jitendra Awhad. (HT FILE)

The minister who spoke to reporters after the state cabinet meeting during which the report came up for discussion, said that the ministers were “furious” at what they saw was an attempt to “defame” the police department and as “a conspiracy” against the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. “Legal action needs to be taken against those involved in this entire episode,” he said, adding that Shukla “breached the trust of seniors”.

Shukla, currently on central deputation, put together a report that names senior politicians, middlemen and police officers, who allegedly sought transfers and postings of their liking, after intercepting the phone calls of six middlemen from June 2020 onwards.

Shukla, an additional director general with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) who recently took additional temporary charge of southern sector, did not respond to calls or messages.

“The then Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sitaram Kunte [current chief secretary, Maharashtra] has confirmed that he never gave the permission for the tapping of the phone numbers mentioned in the report. When asked about the insubordination, Shukla had told chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and home minister Anil Deshmukh a few months ago that it was a mistake committed by her. She had even apologised in writing and the letter is with the government,” Awhad told reporters after emerging from the three-hour long state cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He clarified that Shukla had used pre-existing permissions provided for intercepting calls on other phone numbers but had not sought new permission for the numbers of the six middlemen mentioned in the report dated August 25, 2020.

“Shukla had taken permission for some other numbers to intercept, but the numbers mentioned in the report were intercepted. The officer did not follow the norms. State cabinet ministers were furious when the facts were discussed in today’s meeting. Legal action needs to be taken against those involved in this entire episode as it has brought infamy not only the police department but also to the state. This is a betrayal by the officer. The report submitted by Shukla was used politically two months after Shukla apologised,” Awhad said.

In a press conference held in Mumbai on Tuesday, leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had said Shukla submitted the report to the then Director General of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal on August 25, 2020, who in turn forwarded the report to Kunte the following day.

Fadnavis said that Shukla had “sought proper permissions from then additional chief secretary-home and intercepted phone calls of several police officials and politician”.

However, NCP spokesperson and state minister Nawab Malik refuted the claim and said on Tuesday that Shukla had intercepted calls illegally.

Awhad reiterated on Wednesday that most of the transfers of the officers mentioned in the report did not take place. “The people referred to in the report as middlemen are insignificant and cannot have an involvement in the transfers,” he said.

He said that Shukla’s act led to the breach of trust between officers and also defamed the top IPS officers who have been named in the report.

“It needs to be probed about the permission given for the tapping of the phones and actual interception done,” Awhad said, alleging that the phones of several leaders were under surveillance during the formation of the MVA government.

Jitendra Awhad later tweeted in Marathi, “There are ireful reactions in the police force, especially among the junior-senior officers who have been named in the report. Some of them are going to sue Shukla for defamation while a few have decided to make a complaint against her to the government.”

HT has seen a copy of the report, which named the police officials and the middlemen who helped them seek postings of their choice. It also mentioned the names of politicians such as NCP chief Sharad Pawar, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and home minister Anil Deshmukh, as they came up in the alleged conversations.

The report did not state that the middlemen spoke to these leaders directly. It contended that one middleman is an assistant in the home minister’s office.

The report did not state that any direct transfer of money to these politicians took place. It did, however, refer to “monetary exchange” between police officers and middlemen acting in close connection with politicians.

The report names police officers who were in touch with six middlemen for transfers to desired posts.

In the summary to the report, Shukla wrote: “The aforesaid brokers were in close contacts and embroiled in these negotiations with several influential and the police officers ranging from inspectors to several high-ranking officers are in contact with such undesirable individuals. The information obtained and evidence collected is highly incriminating and gravely implicates a number of individuals engaged in this activity.”

Malik, however, said on Tuesday that the transfer of policemen was a procedural affair and did not occur as mentioned in the report.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday, Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut said, “They (the officials) may have prepared some reports with good intentions. The chief minister will decide what is to be done of these papers.”

A delegation of BJP politicians, including Fadnavis met Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Wednesday, urging him to seek a “status report” from state chief secretary on the law and order situation.

“Extortion is exposed...there is a transfer racket.. state officials are being threatened... all this is worrisome, but the chief minister remains silent. We requested the governor to seek a detailed report from the government as the CM is not taking any action,” Fadnavis said.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray reportedly expressed the concerns over the entire episode during the cabinet meeting, a senior minister said on condition of anonymity. The CM has not spoken publicly about the report as yet.