Jaipur (Rajasthan): The ghost of the phone tapping controversy returned to haunt former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday. Lokesh Sharma, his former Officer on Special Duty (OSD), was summoned again by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on Wednesday in connection with a complaint filed by Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in 2021.
Sharma confirmed the development to ETV Bharat, saying that the Crime Branch issued a notice to him and called him to Delhi for questioning in the case.
Know About The Case
In March 2021, Shekhawat, the then Jal Shakti Minister, filed a complaint against Sharma, former OSD of the CM in the Delhi Crime Branch in the phone tapping case.
The state government was accused of horse-trading during Rajasthan's political crisis in 2020. Some audio clips about the attempts to undermine the Congress administration went viral on social media. It was claimed that some audio clips contained Shekhawat's voice.
Sharma has been summoned by the Delhi Crime Branch over 10 times in the case. During the interrogation, he said that he received audio recordings from social media and that all he did was speak the truth to the people of Rajasthan.
Police Barred From Arresting Sharma
Sharma had filed a plea in the Delhi High Court, requesting to cancel the FIR against him following which the court barred the authorities from arresting him.
He stated that he had no direct role in the matter and that he was only following the instructions given to him by the then-CM Gehlot. The next date of hearing in the case is on Friday.
The issue of phone tapping triggered a major fight between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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