Phones of Maharashtra MPs, MLA were tapped showing them as drug peddlers, Minister tells Assembly

Surveillance was ordered by former Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla during 2017-18

Mobile phones of four elected representatives were kept on surveillance by former Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla during 2017-18 by falsely showing them as drug peddlers, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil informed the Assembly on Monday. Ms. Shukla, against whom two FIRs have been registered, is presently being protected by the Bombay High Court from arrest.

“Mobile numbers of Nana Patole, Bachchu Kadu, Sambhaji Kakde and Ashish Deshmukh were being tapped as per the inquiry report. This was done in 2017 and 2018 when the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power in Maharashtra,” said Mr. Walse-Patil. He was replying to the discussion on State’s law and order situation. Mr. Patole, who is the president of the Maharashtra Congress, was a BJP MP then, while Mr. Kakde and Mr. Deshmukh were BJP Rajya Sabha MP and BJP MLA respectively. Mr. Kadu, an Independent MLA, represents his party Prahar.

“To ensure sanction for tapping, Mr. Patole’s number was shown as that of Amjad Khan, Kadu as Nijamuddin Babu Sheikh, Kakde as Tarbez Sutar and Deshmukh’s two numbers were shown as of Raghu Chorge and Hina Salunkhe,” the Minister informed, adding that further probe will reveal who directed the surveillance. Present Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis was the Chief Minister then and was also holding the charge of Home department.

Replying to the allegations of Mr. Fadnavis about the sting operation of special public prosecutor Pravin Chavan where he is reportedly heard plotting to frame Opposition BJP leader Girish Mahajan, Mr. Walse-Patil said that the inquiry into the said incident would be handed over to State CID. The Opposition, which had demanded CBI inquiry into the same, walked out of the House claiming that the State police will not be able to probe against the State government. “Mr. Chavan has submitted his resignation and we have accepted it,” said the Minister.

On the arrest of Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mr. Walse-Patil said the arrest was a result of his open stand against the functioning of Central agencies. The BJP has been demanding Mr. Malik’s ouster from the Cabinet claiming the arrest means that he was in business with gangster Dawood Ibrahim. “Fadnavis was the CM and Home Minister of Maharashtra for five years. It didn’t occur to him then about making an arrest but now that Malik has been vocal about Central agencies, he was arrested,” said the Minister.