Shiv Sena seeks action against police officers over phone tapping

Sanjay Raut said his phone calls were allegedly tapped along with those of Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar, independent lawmakers, and journalists when they were in talks to form the Shiv Sena-led government in the state

Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday demanded action against police officers allegedly involved in phone tapping, saying he is surprised that Rashmi Shukla continued to be the state police’s intelligence wing chief despite intercepting calls without permission. Raut said the government should have learnt a lesson and not depended too much on the administration to govern.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut. (PTI)

Raut said his phone calls were allegedly tapped along with those of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar, independent lawmakers, and journalists when they were in talks to form the Shiv Sena-led government in the state.

“The government should decide [on action against the officers]. Why is there a need to demand over it? ... Whosoever was involved in the formation of the [Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress] government [in 2019], their phones were tapped,” Raut told reporters in Delhi.

In his report, chief secretary Sitaram Kunte blamed Shukla for intercepting calls under the guise of “public safety” and thus “misguided the authorities”.

Raut referred to independent lawmaker and minister Rajendra Patil Yadravkar’s comments on Thursday that Shukla called her and asked him to back the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it sought to form the government in the state. He added it is not a revelation because everyone knew about phone tapping. “[Shukla] called independent legislators and of smaller parties asking them not to align with the [Uddhav] Thackeray government and go with the BJP. Threats and messages that their files are ready were given,” Raut said.

Raut said the state government did not hold a grudge against such officers after coming to power and retained them. But he added Shukla retaining her post was surprising. “After the [Shiv Sena-led government] came to power, the woman officer was still on the same post for the next five-six months... The administration should not be trusted so much.”

Raut said three to four officers were sympathetic towards the previous BJP government and should have been removed. “Pawar was also of the opinion that such officers should not be kept around. Had action been taken at that time, the leader of opposition [Devendra Fadnavis] would not have had the opportunity to come to Delhi with those documents.”

Fadnavis on Tuesday accused the Maharashtra government of sitting on “incriminating evidence” Shukla provided on an alleged “money for transfer” scam in the police department as he met the Union home secretary in Delhi and demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe on Tuesday.

HT on Wednesday reported the report names senior politicians, middlemen, and police officers, who allegedly sought transfers and postings of their liking. The report is based on intercepted phone calls of six people.

BJP leader Ashish Shelar alleged Kunte’s report was prepared to save a middleman involved in the alleged transfer scam as he is close to the Congress.