Probe 'role' of Devendra Fadnavis in illegal phone tapping: Maha Congress chief

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Sunday demanded that the role of the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who also handled the Home portfolio be investigated in the alleged illegal tapping of phones of select politicians after Pune police registered an FIR against IPS officer Rashmi ShuklaIt is impossible to carry out such illegal activities without the blessings of seniors in the government Patole told reporters He was reacting to the FIR filed against IPS officer and former Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla in the alleged illegal phone tapping caseFadnavis had denied the allegations in the past Phonetapping is not the culture of Maharashtra My government had not given any such orders Fadnavis the leader of the opposition in the state Legislative Assembly had said in January 2020An offence has been registered against senior police officer Rashmi Shukla in the phone tapping case but it is necessary to go to the root of the matter As per the directives of the Supreme Court the home secretarys permission is mandatory for tapping anyones phone Rashmi Shukla would not have dared to indulge in illegal phone tapping without the blessings of a senior member of the government Patole saidThe role of the then chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who also handled the Home portfolio should also be investigated in the phone tapping case he saidPatole alleged that the former home minister was also involved in the case of illegal phone tappingHe claimed that during the tenure of the BJPled government in Maharashtra phones of many ministers and leaders including him and of senior IAS and IPS officers were illegally tapped between 2017 and 18 under the watch of FadnavisIt was shown that we were involved in drug dealing and our phones were tapped Fake Muslim identities were given to us My name was Amjad Khan and Bacchu Kadu current minister in MVA government was given the name of Nizamuddin Babu Sheikh I had also raised the issue of illegal phone tapping in the Assembly and demanded a highlevel inquiryState Home minister Dilip Walse Patil has informed that Rashmi Shukla was found guilty in the inquiry and a case has been registered against her Patole saidHe claimed that the phones are generally tapped with special permission to investigate serious cases concerning terrorism drug trafficking etc but our phones were tapped despite us having nothing to do with these crimesIt is a crime to keep a person under watch by tapping his phone This is the violation of individual freedom the Congress leader saidPatole said many questions remain unansweredThough a case has been registered against Rashmi Shukla many questions remain unanswered like to whom did she give the recordings of phone calls what was the main motive behind tapping phones who had ordered Rashmi Shukla to tap phones he addedPatole demanded that the Maharashtra government should expedite the probe into the phone tapping case to find out the real mastermind and take stern actionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever