IPS officer Rashmi Shukla tapped phones of Khadse, Raut, claims Mumbai police

Senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla illegally tapped the phones of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse, the Mumbai police has claimed in an FIR registered against her and some other officials.

Mumbai: Senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla illegally tapped the phones of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and NCP leader Eknath Khadse, the Mumbai police has claimed in an FIR registered against her and some other officials.

They tapped the phones of these two leaders in June 2019 for "vested political interests," said the First Information Report registered at Colaba police station in south Mumbai on Wednesday. Notably, Khadse, a former Maharashtra minister, was with the BJP then. Earlier in the day, the Bombay High Court granted Shukla protection from arrest in a similar case registered in Pune.

Shukla is currently on central deputation and posted as Additional Director General of Police (Central Reserve Police Force) at Hyderabad. The latest First Information Report against her was registered at Colaba Police Station under section 26 of the Indian Telegraph Act (official divulging confidential material) and section 166 of the IPC (official disobeying orders) on a complaint filed by an additional commissioner of police-level officer. As per the police, Shukla had no valid reason such as national security or prevention of major crime under the Telegraph Act to tap the phones of Raut and Khadse.

The alleged illegal phone tapping had taken place when Shukla headed the state intelligence department (SID) in Maharashtra, the official added. Earlier, Pune Police had registered an FIR against Shukla at Bund Garden police station in connection with alleged illegal tapping of the phones of Congress leader Nana Patole when a BJP-led government was in power in the state. Patole is now state Congress chief.

The cyber wing of the Mumbai crime branch had also registered an FIR against unidentified persons earlier over alleged phone tapping and leak of confidential documents about police transfers during Shukla's tenure as SID chief, and even recorded her statement. But this FIR, registered under the Official Secrets Act at BKC Police Station in Mumbai in March 2021, did not name her as accused.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court on Friday restrained the Pune police from taking any coercive action against Shukla till March 25. A bench of Justices S S Shinde and Nitin Borkar said that Shukla deserved to be granted protection from arrest in the case until further orders, since prima facie it appeared that she had been "singled out" in the FIR.

It took note of Shukla's counsel and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani's argument that though the alleged incident of illegal phone tapping had taken place over three years ago, the Pune police's FIR was registered only on February 25 this year. Shukla was posted as Pune police commissioner between March 2016 and July 2018.

Shukla's role came under the scanner after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis released a confidential report or letter about alleged corruption in the police transfers, purportedly prepared by the SID when Shukla was in charge. It was alleged that she had intercepted phones by misleading her superior officials and leaked the report.

PTI