Maharashtra Phone tapping case | Devendra Fadnavis accuses MVA government of malice in issuing notice to him 

 Summon was not a notice as an accused, says State Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil

Accusing the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of attempting to pressurise him in connection with a case of illicit phone tapping, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday claimed that the Mumbai Police were trying to make him a co-accused in the matter, even as the MVA said it was not acting vindictively against the BJP leader.

Mr. Fadnavis, a former Chief Minister of the State, attributed the ruling government’s action — of directing the Mumbai Police to issue a notice against him — as a malicious response to the scams of the MVA government’s Ministers that he had been uncovering, particularly that of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Minister Nawab Malik’s alleged links with fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

A large body of BJP workers protested against the “notice” issued to Mr. Fadnavis outside his Mumbai residence ‘Sagar’, where police security was beefed up. Prior to the arrival of the Mumbai Police team, several BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar, MLA Nitesh Rane and MLC Prasad Lad, among others, gathered at Mr. Fadnavis’ residence in a show of solidarity. BJP activists burnt copies of the police notice in different parts of the State.

Even as the Mumbai Police team recorded Mr. Fadnavis’ statement for nearly two hours, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said that the BJP had no need to “create a riot over the matter” and that the police had not sent Mr. Fadnavis a notice as “an accused in the case”.

Mr. Walse-Patil further clarified that Mr. Fadnavis had been given a police questionnaire five-six times in the past year as to what his source of information was regarding a pen drive that had come into his possession in connection with the case and which he mentioned publicly, but that the BJP leader had not yet given his reply. 

A case was registered under the Official Secrets Act at Mumbai’s BKC Cyber Police Station last year against unidentified persons for allegedly illegally tapping phones and leaking confidential documents. The complaint was lodged by the State Intelligence Department (SID). Before the first information report (FIR) was registered, the then Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte had alleged in his inquiry report that Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rashmi Shukla had leaked the confidential report.

“This case [of illicit phone tapping] is now a year old and was registered on March 26, 2021. The complaint was regarding some sensitive material and technical information missing from the Mumbai SID (State Intelligence Department) office. A case has been registered under the Indian Telegraph Act and Official Secrets Act against five unidentified persons in this regard and 24 witnesses have been examined. Since Mr. Fadnavis was the last witness, the police had gone to his house to record his statement to conclude the case and there is nothing in this,” the State Home Minister said, stressing that the summons issued to Mr. Fadnavis was not a notice.